Fate Has Laid A Hand: A Brittana Fanfiction
by heyheynaynay
Summary: Santana Lopez arrives as a new teacher at William McKinley High where cheerleader Brittany Pierce is in her senior year.  I know this a crappy summary but the story is most definitely better, really. Brittana love story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Santana Lopez strode confidently down the crowded school hallway, inwardly rolling her eyes as the hoardes of teenage boys became momentarily dumbstruck as she passed by. With her dark looks and beautiful figure she drew attention wherever she went. Especially if where she went happened to be full of hormone fuelled young men she thought with a smirk.

Ignoring the low whispers and admiring glances, she slowed her pace, focusing instead on the unhelpful campus map she'd just been given and once again tried to locate classroom 2B.

She came to a stop by a row of lockers checking her watch and frowning slightly at the time. She was running late. Her car wouldnt start this morning, until Mr Ortega from next door had pointed out her dead battery, even replacing it whilst she watched but leaving her embarrassed and a little flustered as she arrived at William McKinley High School on her first day at a new job.

And then when she finally arrived, there had been no one waiting to show her around, just a put upon receptionist who had hastily printed out a school map, thrust it into her hands and told her to go and see Principal Figgins if she needed anything else. Letting out a small sigh she looked around her, trying to work out which poorly drawn block on her map represented this part of the school.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

She turned, coming face to face with a grinning teenage boy who stood casually in front of his open locker. He was about about two inches taller than her with olive skin, impressively muscled arms and attractive brown eyes that looked her over appreciatively. He wore a check shirt, sleeves rolled up, unbuttoned at the top and his hair, in what she took as an expression of youthful defiance, was styled into a short Mohawk. Judging by his easy manner and obvious good looks she assumed he was one of the popular kids, probably on the football team, probably with a pretty, cheerleader girlfriend. Exactly the type of boy she had gone out with in her high school days she thought with a hint of nostalgia.

Not that she missed it, not really. Boring nights with an endless parade of jocks, clumsy hands pawing at her at the movies, at a party, under the bleachers after a school dance. Every date ending with a well practised excuse as to why she had to go home early after what had seemed like hours of dull, almost ritualistic making out in the back of some guy's car. Overall, Santana had loved High School. She had been a big deal from the moment she stepped through the doors of Franklin High, to the day she was crowned homecoming queen and captain of the cheerleading team in her senior year. But forcing herself to fake interest in the constant stream of immature, lust filled boys eager to have a chance with her, that had been the hard part. She had had a reputation to live up to, not only as the bitchiest girl in the whole school, but also as the hottest. And with that came a challenge to keep herself at the top, to hold on to the façade of a normal, popular teenage girl enjoying the attention of every boy in school. Which is how she found herself every weekend, agreeing to yet another meal out at Breadstix with the captain of the football team, the promise of at least over the shirt groping to keep him happy and the safety of pretend heterosexuality for her.

A sharp bang brought her back to the hallway as the boy shut his locker and stepped towards her, hoisting his bag over one shoulder.

"You look kinda lost" he said, nodding at the slightly crumpled paper she held in her hands "You need any help?"

Santana smiled, before handing the map over "Thank you..I think I'm looking for the humanities department"

He tilted his head, running his eyes over the complicated 2 dimensional drawing of William McKinley high school she had given him before shaking his head in confusion.

"It might be easier if you just tell me the classroom" He said giving it back "I'm a senior, so I know my way around"

As she opened her mouth to answer him her phone began to buzz insistently in her pocket. Remembering she had already ignored it twice this morning as she drove to work, she smiled apologetically and reached into her jacket.

"Sorry, let me just uh get th-" she started before seeing the caller ID and frowning. "Jesus Christ, not again" she murmured, sighing slightly and pressing down firmly on the ignore button. She put the phone back in her pocket and made a mental note to deal with it in her break.

"So..yeah sorry, it's classroom 2B" she said looking back up at the boy who was staring at her with a puzzled look, clearly curious about the phone call. She raised her eyebrows, surely he didn't expect an explanation?

She asked again, firmly this time "Classroom 2B?"

The boy registered her tone and nodded quickly "Oh, yeah of course sorry" He briefly glanced at the watch on his wrist and then looked back up at her "I could show you if you like. It's on the way to my first class anyway"

Although she was reluctant to continue what was quickly becoming an awkward conversation, she was anxious to check out her new classroom before her first class arrived and she doubted her own navigation skills could locate it without help. And seeing as this boy had been the only helpful person she had met this morning she smiled gratefully and stuffed the useless map into her bag.

"Yes, that would be great, thanks"

They set off down the hallway, Santana walking a step behind the boy and casting an appraising eye around her new workplace. It was a nice school, fairly modern and big, with decor of mainly red and white, McKinley's school colours. The boy led her through groups of students walking slowly to class, laughter and raised voices echoing through the wide hallway. They passed a teacher's lounge and Santana was thankful to see a decent coffee maker through the plate glass windows. A few teachers stood idly around, chatting animatidly and enjoying the last few moments before class began. They looked happy enough, Santana noted, surprised at how cheerful everybody seemed for a monday morning.

"So you're a new teacher then?" the boy asked politely, twisting his neck to look back at her.

She nodded, picking up her pace slightly to keep up with him "Yes, I'm the new Government teacher. I'll be replacing Mrs Jackson whilst she goes on maternity leave"

He seemed disappointed "Oh, I don't take Government"

She wasn't surprised, he struck her as the type of boy more interested in girls and football than studying but she gave him a sympathetic look anyway. "Well, there's always next semester"

Continuing through the school she tried to memorise the way to her classroom but when hallways lined with endless lockers gave way to yet more hallways lined with endless lockers she quickly gave up. As they went past a set of double doors leading outside, Santana peered out at the huge football field and noticed a group of teenagers, all wearing identical uniforms, practising somersaults in tight formation whilst a tall woman with a megaphone yelled instructions from the sideline.

Pausing at the window she saw a pretty blonde girl falter slightly with her landing and immediately look up anxiously as her coach roared into the megaphone.

"YOU THINK THIS IS HARD? TRY AVOIDING WILL SCHUESTER IN THE STAFF ROOM EVERY DAY FOR 5 YEARS SO YOU DONT PASS OUT FROM THE FUMES OF ALL THE HAIR SPRAY HE USES...THAT'S HARD"

Santana watched as the girl steeled herself and tried again, landing the front tuck perfectly, much to her visible relief. The coach gave a barely noticable nod and barked "Adequate Fabray" before directing her attention to another cheerleader who had just arrived, obviously late, sprinting onto the pitch with a look of terror on her face.

"State champs five years running"

Santana looked up at the boy who had come to stand next to her at the doors and looked at him questioningly,

"Sorry?"

He pointed at the group of cheerleaders who were looking on uncomfortably as their coach screamed at the cowering late girl,

"The Cheerios...best high school cheerleaders in Ohio. They've made William McKinley famous." They watched together as the cheerleader began to cry. Even from this distance Santana couldnt help but notice how pretty the girl was, despite the tears that coursed down her face.

"They win every cheerleading competition they enter in." He paused "Well since Coach Sue came along anyway"

He started to walk again, Santana following with a quick backwards glance at the girl, now trying to execute a round off after hurriedly drying her eyes on the sleeve of her cheerleading uniform.

"The coach...she seems very..." she tailed off, realising how inappropriate it would be to share her thoughts on a fellow member of staff with a student. But the boy turned, laughing and gave her a knowing look, running his hand lightly over his Mohawk.

"Yeah, she's crazy" he shrugged "But they win every year".

...

As they reached her classroom the boy spread his arms and gestured to the door,

"2B..as promised"

She gave a grateful smile as she stepped forward and turned the handle

"Thank you, I appreciate it." As an afterthought she added,

"You aren't going to be late for your lesson are you?...I could write you a note"

The boy shook his head and went to leave "No it's fine Miss, I'm failing anyway" he said smiling.

As he reached the end of the corridor he looked back and just before she disappeared into the room he shouted,

"Hey miss..what's your name?"

Santana laughed softly and turned around, putting her foot against the door and leaning into the hallway,

"Ms. Lopez, what's yours?"

"I'm Puck" he answered with an inappropriate wink

"Hey Puck?"

"Yeah?"

"Go to class"

He laughed "Catch you later Ms. Lopez"

...

**I apologise in advance for any mistakes about the American school system, I'm british so I don't really know it too well, also I spell blonde / practice / realise differently but hopefully we can all move past that. Thank you for reading, I genuinely really appreciate it. **

****This is my first fic so I'd be really grateful for any feedback :)****


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sitting on the edge of her new desk, Santana looked around her new classroom approvingly. She was surprised at just how nice it was. The walls were adorned with information posters all on different aspects of US politics, one on the set up of congress, the workings of the electoral college, how a bill was passed etc and on the back wall, staring down over the classroom was a large poster of Barack Obama at his inaugaration speech. There were 20 desks, facing the white board in neat lines of 5 by 5, each with a Government and Politics textbook sat neatly on top. The walls were painted a light yellow, giving the room a warm, sunny feel and the faded wooden floor was much nicer than the awful linoleum that covered most of the hallways outside.

As she wandered over to the wall opposite the door, she was pleased to look out of the large windows and see they looked out onto the football field, where she noticed the cheerios were now running laps. She stared down at them for awhile, trying to find the girl who had been crying earlier but she was slightly too far away to be able to make out their facial features and there were too many blondes to be sure she was looking at the right one. She stood there for awhile watching the cheerleaders race each other around the track and wondered if they were enjoying themselves, heads down, legs pumping, they continued sprinting under the watchful eye of their coach, at the peak of their physical fitness.

The bell rang suddenly and she scanned the room, checking once again to make sure it was ready for her very first class.

Looking down at her self, she smoothed the skirt of her favourite Jil Sander suit against her legs and walked over to her desk, removing her jacket to hang on the back of her chair. She wasn't nervous. Being intelligient and beautiful equipped her to adapt to most situations well, and a bunch of high school kids certainly didn't present any threat she couldnt deal with. As a teenager she had ruled her high school, reigning over the other students with a balance of bitchy wit, good looks and an ability to excel at anything she turned her hand to. As a former homecoming queen, coming back slightly older and wiser only made her more confident.

Reaching into her leather handag she pulled out a gleaming compact and flipped it open, checking her appearance quickly before the students began to arrive. Her silky black hair framed her face perfectly, hanging loose and still slightly wavy from her shower that morning. Regarding her mouth critically, she ran her tongue lightly along her full bottom lip, glad she had chosen a clear lipgloss this morning. Her olive skin glowed in the light from the morning sun pouring through her window and she smiled at her reflection, satisfied she looked nice but not overly made up.

She snapped the mirror shut just as the door opened and a young girl entered, beaming. She had a long curtain of dark hair pushed back neatly from her head with a plaid headband which, Santana noted, matched her skirt and sweater exactly.

"Why hello" the girl said excitedly, flashing perfectly straight and even white teeth. "I'm Rachel Berry"

She advanced towards Santana with one hand out, using the other to clutch her notepad to her chest.

"I'm captain of the debating society, and President of the school's Democratic association" She gave a soft laugh "among other things, so I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other"

Santana shook the girls hand, unsure of whether this was good news or not.

"Well..uh..great. I'm Ms. Lopez"

The girl nodded and reached into the satchel hanging from her shoulder, withdrawing a red apple which she ceremoniously placed on the desk. She leant towards a bemused Santana with a secretive smile.

"Just a little something...from me, to welcome you to McKinley"

"Uh wow, thank you Rachel, that's really...kind"

Rachel bowed her head in a show of modesty just as the door opened again and 3 students entered together. They hovered in the doorway, staring at Santana hesitantly before slowly edging in.

"Is this twelth year Government?"

Santana smiled at the handsome, effeminate boy who had asked and beckoned them all in,

"Yes, come in...I'm Ms. Lopez"

The boy regarded her carefully as he walked to a desk in the front, his eyes hovering on her beautifully fitted white shirt and high heeled, black court shoes. He sat down next to Rachel, offering her a quiet "Hi" before returning his admiring gaze to Santana who had positioned herself neatly, legs crossed, back on the edge of her desk. Following him into the room was a tall asian boy who introduced himself as "Mike" and behind him another boy, short and muscley with ridiculous lips and sweeping blonde hair. As they took their seats Rachel looked at Santana expectantly before putting her hand in the air and, without waiting to be called on, asked,

"Shall we begin Ms. Lopez?...Perhaps we could start with a 'getting to know you' session, I have a few ide-"

Santana held up her hand to stop her.

"Wait a second Rachel, let's wait for the whole class to arrive shall we?"

The other students in the class exchanged glances, smirking. The blonde boy spoke up,

"Well, Blaine isn't here today so...this is the whole class"

Santana looked around the four students all sitting in the front row and opened her hands, palms facing the ceiling in an expression of confusion.

"What?..Are you kidding?...This is it?"

The boy shrugged apologetically "Well most people take easier electives..Mr Thomas's twelfth grade cooking class has like, 40 students,, and like, another 20 who didn't even get a place this year "

Rachel, who had been eager to rejoin the conversation, nodded emphatically "Even Mr Schue's spanish class is oversubscribed...I guess some people just find Government kind of...boring"

She half whispered the last word, careful to make it clear that she was not one of those people, that she loved this class and would never try and swap it for something as pointless as cooking. Santana inhaled sharply, raising her eyebrows. She was not completley shocked that most kids weren't interested in her class if she were being honest, but 5 students? In a school as big as this? Really?

Turning to the board she carefully rolled the sleeves of her expensive white shirt to the elbow and picked up a pen,

"Well...I guess we better get started then"

...

"I just don't understand why, if other classes are full, the students aren't being made to attend the lessons with remaining spaces. There are five students in my twelfth grade class" she paused for dramatic effect "Five!"

Principal Figgins watched as his new Government teacher explained her point again, gesturing with her perfectly manicured hands at invisible students. He had been taken aback when she had marched into his office this morning, brandishing a piece of paper covered in messy handwriting and talking heatedly about class numbers and student electives. She had only been in the school 3 hours and she was already causing trouble. He sighed, she was a remarkable woman to behold angry, with her dark eyes flashing and her small frame gesturing dramatically. He had a feeling this meeting would be the first of many over the coming months although he couldnt bring himself to be entirely annoyed at the thought of the beautiful latina woman spending so much time in his office.

"-but then in the staffroom this morning I found that there are at least 15 students who take a free period, instead of just going to an under subscribed class" Santana noticed that the Principal's eyes seemed to have glazed over. "Principal Figgins?..Are you listening?"

With some effort the Principal tore himself away from his thoughts and tried to focus on what she was saying. Only to end up slightly distracted again, as his gaze fell on her tight white shirt and figure hugging, high waisted skirt. She let out an irritated sigh and pressed the printed roster she had been holding in her hands firmly in front of him on the desk between them.

"Principal Figgins." she began calmly "I teach eleventh and twelfth grade. That is a total of only 4 classes and a combined number of only 32 students. As I'm sure you are aware, Junior and Senior electives are 4 times a week, which means I have 16 hours of lessons" She tilted her head and stared directly at him "It seems strange to me that I should have so many spare hours hours a week with no lessons, whilst there are seniors taking free periods because there are no classes for them"

"Okayyy, but what do you want me to do about it Ms. Lopez?" his thick Pakistani accent broke her name in two, pronouncing the 2 syllables separately and placing unessecary emphasis on the 'pez'.

"If you are looking for something to fill up that time, you could extend the hours of the debating society or, well, Mr Schuester could always use more help with the Glee club and yo-" Santana shook her head, her face screwed up in annoyance.

"Glee club? What? No! That's not my point" She pointed at the paper on his desk which she was covered in her own annotations "I wrote down a list of all the students who are on a free when they could be taking my Government class and I really think, even if it's only as a trial, that we should be making an effort to teach these kids something rather than letting them goof around four hours a week"

He looked down at her list and was surprised to see quite so many names. Of course he knew that most of the cheerleaders had numerous free periods, Coach Sue insisted on having at least 1 hour during the school day to train them. Not that she didn't make them come early and stay late most days too, but as she always told him, there was a price for all that William McKinley glory. But looking down at the list of students he had a slight feeling of uneasiness, realising she was right. Alot of these kids were troublemakers anyway, it would probably be better to get them in a classroom for an extra 3 hours a week rather than have them roaming the corridors, graffiting lockers, bullying the freshman.

"Okay, okay. Maybe you are right Ms. Lopez" He held up his hands in a show of mock defeat "I'll get the office to timetable you a few extra classes with these students and you can try and help them get some extra credit"

Santana stood up with a satisfied smile and took the Principal's proffered hand with a firm handshake.

"Great, I'm glad we sorted this out" she stood up and turned to leave "I'll come to collect my new rosters tomorrow"

As she opened the door and stepped assuredly into the hallway, Principal Figgins couldn't help but watch her go, still slightly reeling from the direct effeciency with which she got her own way. Staring down again at the list of 15 or so students he had just agreed to send to her he took a small sip of coffee and said quietly into the empty room "Good Luck", not entirely sure if he was adressing the students, or himself.

...

**I think this is probably fairly unrealistic, I don't even know if you get to choose your classes in high school but I guess it doesn't really matter all that much, Brittana is the important thing. I'll introduce Brittany next chapter which I'll start writing now and you can probably expect late tonight, 12.00 maybe? British time. **

**Feedback really appreciated, thanks :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Santana left the principal's office and took a left at the end of the hallway, heading for the teacher's lounge. She had missed most of her free period but lunch started in 10 minutes, which left just enough time to grab a quick coffee whilst the hallways were still deserted and make it back to her classroom before the rush. She would drink it back at her desk, where she had a homemade salad waiting in her bag and the looming prospect of a phonecall she would rather make in private, away from her new collegues.

She expected the teacher's lounge to be empty but entered the room to find Will Schuester sat down at one of the round canteen tables with an unopened plastic lunch box, focusing intently on a pile of tests in front of him . He looked up at the door opening and Santana raised her hand in greeting, pleased when he waved her over enthusiastically, shuffling his papers out of the way and back into his messenger bag.

She had met Will that morning on her first visit to the staffroom at break and had warmed instantly to his easygoing and companionable manner. He had introduced himself as head of 'New Directions', the school's Glee club and told her he also taught Spanish, Sophomore and above. After learning her name and what subject she taught, he had introduced her to the room at large, addressing the other 12 teachers at once.

"Hey...everyone listen up"

It hadn't taken much to get their attention, as the arrival of a very young and particularly attractive new member of staff easily pulled focus from the samey, recycled conversations they'd been having about boring topics none of them really cared about anyway. The weather ("unseasonably warm for november"), the students ("getting more uncontrollable every day") and the antics of Sue Sylvester ("she punched Figgins in the face you know...for trying to cut her budget"). So when Will gestured to the beautiful, impeccably dressed latina woman standing at his side, they had fallen quiet, waiting expectantly for him to speak.

"This is Santana Lopez, she just started today...obviously you all know Mandy left to have her baby, so, Santana is gonna be taking her Government classes this year whilst she's on maternity leave"

There had been a ripple of polite hellos and friendly smiles around the room which she had acknowledged with a small wave, conscious of 12 pairs of curious eyes that had stared back at her with great interest. She hadn't been able to help but notice a few of the male teachers exchange very happy looks at her arrival, a sly wink even passing between two sports coaches sat together at the back, and her lip had curled in distaste. She knew that look, and she was really not looking forward to fielding requests from every would be Lothario in this school who wanted to take her out, "for coffee or whatever". Raising her eyes to a god she didn't believe in, she had prayed that she would be given at least a few weeks settle in before the inevitable chasing began, before she had to explain to a gaggle of potential suitors exactly why she would have to decline their offers of a movie, or a drink, or dinner out.

Forcibly pushing that sobering thought out of her head she had turned to Will, smiling her thanks for his introduction. He had led her to a table near the window where they had spent the last few minutes of their break establishing a basic acquaintance and agreeing to meet at the same time the next day. Will had promised to show Santana around a bit and seemed eager to introduce her to the school guidance counsellor, Emma Pillsbury "She's great, I really think you'll get on" he had assured her as they parted ways at the door of teacher's lounge.

And now here they were again, a few hours later, both happy to see each other as she sat down opposite him at the small table.

"So did you go and see Figgins?" he asked impatiently.

They had been discussing the issue earlier and Will had encouraged her to go to the principal. It has started when Santana casually mentioned how small her first class had been and Will had seemed surprised, looking up from his coffee with a frown.

"Really?...I thought all the senior electives were full up"

She had assured him her class was definitely not full, not even halfway, but he had continued to look puzzled. He had explained to her that he knew at least 15 students who used some of their elective periods to do extra sport or cheerleading because, he had assumed, all the classes had already been filled. As she explained again hat her class was far from being full he seemed to realise something and shook his head wearily.

"I doubt it's a coincidence that all these students are jocks and cheerleaders"

She pressed him to explain what he meant.

"I'd imagine Sue has more than a little to do with the Cheerio's getting so many free spaces on their timetable's. And the football team is pretty competitive too, I'm sure Coach Beaste finds it easier fitting in a few extra practises when her players don't have so many classes to go to"

Santana's jaw dropped "Do you really think that's the reason?"

Will had nodded emphatically, "Yeah I do, definitely. I can't see why else they would be let off. I just can't believe Figgins has let it happen..he probably doesn't even know how much they are missing...they could be earning college credit and instead, Sue's got them practising round offs in the gym for hours on end"

That's when he had suggested Santana go to the principal about it, ask him to reconsider their timetables. "Don't mention Sue..just tell him how small your class is, and suggest adding a few of the students who aren't signed up for anything"

Santana had agreed it was worth a try, and sitting in front of Will now, she happily told him how well things had gone with Figgins and thanked him for his help.

"I'm just glad it's sorted" he told her, taking a bite out of his sandwich and nodding at the empty table in front of her "You not eating?"

"I have a salad in my bag" she said, gesturing behind her with her thumb, to indicate her bag back in the classroom. She felt it would be rude to tell him she had been planning on eating at her desk so she made out like she wasn't hungry "I'll have it later"

He offered her the other half of his sandwich but she shook her head, laughing when he placed it in front of her anyway. "Go on, have it" he urged her, smiling as she picked it up with a small sigh and began to eat. He waited for her to swallow before he leaned forward, resting his elbows against the table and looking at her expectantly.

"So...how'd you end up here?"

...

They spent the whole hour together, slowly sharing Will's lunch between them and talking about everything. Education, family, careers. He asked about Santana's parents and she edited her story carefully, not lying to him, but also not wanting to darken the mood by describing how just miserable she remembered her childhood to have been.

She had grown up just outside of Lima Heights, in the more affluent part of Allens county, living in a huge, beautiful house that her mother often boasted was "the most expensive on the street". Her father was an agressively ambitious partner for a prestigious law firm, earning thousands of dollars a year whilst her mother's only job was simply to spend her husband's money as fast as he made it and to make sure Santana didn't ruin his reputation as successful business man as well as the loving patriach of his beautiful, happy family.

Neither of them had any time for their daughter or any real interest in her at all which even Santana became aware of at a young age. Her father was constantly flying to New York or LA for some business seminar or important meeting whilst her mother trailed after him, using the trip as an excuse to go shopping for another pair of diamond earrings, another crystal chandelier for the dining room back home. Santana was left at home, discarded on the lap of some reluctant family member who wanted to look after her just as much as she wanted to be left stranded by the people meant to take care of her.

She had been a difficult child and had proved it by quickly moving through nanny after nanny, until eventually her parents had decided that it would be less hassle to simply leave her on her own when they were away. As a result, most of Santana's early memories were of a cold empty house, all the lights turned on so she wouldn't get scared, whilst she curled up on the sofa in her father's office, eyes shut tight, trying to sleep. They would leave her alone for days at a time, expecting her to cook her own meals, get herself up on time for school. This had got easier as she got older, more self sufficient and by the time she was 16 she much preferred it when they were away. She had friends over most nights, huge parties at weekends and she could pretend her parents didn't exist, that it was her house. In her last year at high school she barely saw them, as their trips became longer and more frequent and when she finally moved away to college in the summer they barely recognized the young woman who stood outside of her dorm room, waving goodbye as they drove away.

After 4 years she had graduated top of her class at Ohio State, then gone straight on to teacher training college, knowing that no matter what she chose to do career wise, she would always have teaching to fall back on.

"Fall back on?" Will asked, interrupting her story "Is this not a permanent thing for you then?"

She had become so caught up in her story, the real memories behind the short, simplified version she was giving Will that it took her a second to react to his question. She fiddled absentmindedly with a strand of hair whilst he stared at her curiously.

"Well I never dreamed to be a teacher" she answered simply "But I knew that if I wanted something bigger I'd have to make sure I had a backup"

"So what was your dream?" he asked, lifting a grape to his lips and tossing it casually into his mouth.

"I don't know really...I guess I wanted to do something in politics, maybe business" she shrugged "I just never got around to working it all out"

"Well, it's not too late Santana. You can't be more than.." He leaned in slightly, looking at her closely "twenty five?"

"Twenty six" she corrected him with a small smile, tucking the strand of hair she'd been playing with behind her ear.

"Exactly, you're hardly past it. You have plenty of time"

The bell rang loudly, surprising th em both. Will reached forward, scooping the crumbs and discarded saran wrap from the table and into the bin behind him, stretching slightly before getting to his feet. Santana followed, slowly standing up and making her way to the rapidly cooling coffee pot whilst Will collected up his bag and jacket which he had hung over one side of his chair. He stood at the door, waiting patiently for her to add 2 sugars before stirring and placing the flimsy plastic lid over the disposable cup. As she walked towards him he looked at her thoughtfully,

"But I'm glad you'll be here for this year, even if you do leave to become the first female president..."

She tilted her head questioningly as he held the door open for her to pass through into the now crowded hallway.

"Cause I have a feeling we are going to be great friends"

...

Still thinking about her conversation with Will, Santana rounded the corner into a fairly empty corridor and walked briskly towards her classroom, not looking up as she approached the door. From the opposite direction a tall blonde girl, also walking quickly, looked up to see the woman headed towards her and momentarily slowed down, slightly dumbstruck by her colossal good looks. Brittany stared so intently at the woman, willing her to look up so she could see the eyes that were surely as beautiful as the rest of her face, that she didn't notice that they were now a little over a metre apart, heading straight for each other.

Too late for either of them to veer to the side, Santana lifted her gaze, having noticed with some alarm the feet that were suddenly directly in front of her own. For a second her deep, almost black eyes met with ice blue and she felt a jolt of recognition, staring into the face of the cheerleader she had seen earlier, crying on the football pitch in front of an enraged Coach Sylvester. But in a second the connection was broken as they collided into each other, Santana stumbling backwards, her coffee cup flying from her hands. It span gracefully into the air, the lid becoming unattached almost immediately as it turned upside down sending a fountain of dark brown liquid cascading through the air. A fountain that fell down from directly above a wide eyed Brittany Pierce, landing neatly with a soft splash, on the WMHS logo adorning her cheerios uniform. There was a moment of silence as they both looked down at the quickly spreading stain across Brittany's chest and then Santana hurried towards her.

"You just walked straight into me! I didn't even see you until you were just there right in front of me. Are you alright?" She scrabbled around in her pockets frantically for a tissue, finally locating one and thrusting it into the blonde girl's hand roughly "You walked right into me, what were you doing? You aren't burnt are you? Are you alright? Does it hurt?"

Brittany took the tissue, still staring down at her uniform and began dabbing at the droplets of coffee on her upper arms and neck "Yeah it's fine, it's really not that hot" There was no point trying to get the stain from her outfit so she dropped her hand, the tissue hanging limply by her side. Coach Sue was going to kill her for this.

"I'm really sorry" she murmured into her chest "I wasn't paying attention and then you were just suddenly there and-" her face flamed red as she realised she didn't have an explanation. "I'm really sorry"

Realising the girl wasn't hurt, Santana's initial panic subsided and she put a reassuring hand on the girls slightly damp shoulder. The girl looked upset and she felt bad for her slightly angry outburst.

"Look, it's fine, I wasn't really looking where I was going either and neither of us is hurt so don't worry." She slid her hand down the girls arm and tugged slightly at the crook of her elbow.

"Come on, come in here for a second and we'll get you a bit more cleaned up, yeah?"

Brittany nodded and allowed herself to be led gently into the empty classroom, offering a small smile as Santana pushed her gently to lean against the desk and took a step back, surveying the damage.

She stood for a second, thoughtful, before reaching behind Brittany and pulling her jacket off of the back of her chair.

"This is probably going to look kind of stupid but it's the only thing I can think of. You can't really go around with that huge stain for the rest of the day" she leant forward and placed the black, fitted suit jacket in the cheerleader's hands.

"Just wear it for today, over the top of your uniform and then just bring it back when you can"

"Seriously?" The jacket looked expensive, Brittany felt nervous just holding it "I don't want to stain it"

Santana dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand,

"It's fine. It was my coffee that ruined your outfit so don't worry. Now you better get to class before I make you even later"

The blonde smiled gratefully "Thanks"

She stood up, placing her arms carefully through the sleeves and pulling it round her, careful not to press it against the stains on her chest. It fitted well, despite their difference in height and as she caught her reflection opening the door to leave she thought it actually looked quite good with her uniform.

"Hey"

She turned her head to see the teacher sitting against the desk, watching her as she checked herself out in the window. Brittany waited for her to say something.

"It looks nice on you"

And with that Santana picked up a textbook and turned to the board, picking up a pen to copy out a page for her next class. Brittany slipped out of the classroom quietly, a delighted blush spreading over her cheeks as she wrapped the jacket around her and skipped to Coach Sylvester's office, no longer afraid to tell her she would be needing her third new uniform this year.

...

**I've had some really great feedback so thank you, I really appreciate it. Thanks to anyone who reviewed, especially to meatisadelicacy for helping me to make it a bit less British :)**

**I am sorrayy that this update is 2 and half hours late but it's really long and hopefully you like it, although it is now 2.30am my time and I am so tired after staying up to write it that it might not make much sense. **

**Hopefully you like it, please review, as this is my first fic ever I could really do with the feedback. Thanks. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next few days passed quickly as Santana slowly learned her way around McKinley. In his breaks, Will would go to her usually empty classroom and offer to show her the choir room, or the gym, or whatever part of the school she hadn't seen yet and Santana would happily accept. She appreciated the help, and since her extra classes didn't start till friday it was nice to have something to do with her copious amounts of free time.

She had been given her new rosters on wednesday, after being reassured by Principal Figgins a day earlier that yes they were a top priority, but that one day really wasn't enough time to change mulitple timetables. When they finally arrived in her pigeon hole she was pleased to see her original twelfth grade Government course had gained 5 new students, as well as an entirely new class made up of 10 kids. Scanning her eyes down the list of names she was drawn to a handwritten addition scrawled messily at the bottom of the page reading "Noah Puckerman".

The name had made her pause as she thought back to the morning before, to the boy in the hallway who had helped her to find her classroom. He had seemed genuinely disappointed that she wouldn't be teaching him and hadn't he called himself Puck..short for Puckerman she wondered? It was probably the same kid. She smirked, wondering how he had managed to swing that, but also felt a small wave of relief , pleased that she'd have at least one student who wanted to be in her class. Ever since her meeting with Figgins she had felt slightly apprehensive, it was going to be hard to convince these kids that taking her class was a better use of their time than playing sports and cheerleading. And when Coach Sylvester found out she had taken it upon herself to cut their practice time, well, there was no point worrying about that yet. Not that she was actually scared, she just didn't want to make things harder for herself when she hadn't even been at the school a week.

And now it was Friday and she had her new students straight after break. And she had to try and think of a fun and exciting part of politics to talk about to get them interested in the course. She sat down at her desk, running her fingers through her long hair and sighing heavily...that ruled the Republicans out then.

...

Friday morning dawned crisp and clear, the sun shining in brightly through Brittany Pierce's window as she hurriedly got herself ready for school. Checking the timetable her dad had made her blu tack above her desk so she wouldn't lose it, she packed her bag, stuffing her spanish homework carelessly behind her maths book and chucking her pencil case on top. She had woken up late and her mother had already come into her room twice to check she wasn't dawdling.

Still in the oversized football shirt she had worn to bed, she crossed the room and threw open her window before leaning out to test the temperature. A light wind caught her hair, swinging it gently around her shoulders as she inhaled the cool morning air.

"Hey Tubbs" She said, pulling the window shut and turning to address the large cat spread comfortably across her bed.

"You think I should wear my cheerios jacket today?...it's pretty cold out"

Lord Tubbington streched lazily on the patchwork quilt with a non committal mewl, which Brittany took as a firm yes and pulled the jacket out of her closet, tossing it by her bag.

After taking a quick shower she brushed out her hair before slicking it up into a high, tight ponytail and securing it neatly at the back with a scarlet ribbon.

"Brittany, honey" her mother's voice rang out from the kitchen "We're leaving in five"

"Yeah, I'm nearly ready Mom" she called back, turning to check her hair from both sides.

Smiling at her appearance in the mirror she applied a little mascara and then pulled on her cheerios uniform, grabbing her bag and jacket as she left the room.

"Be good" she shouted over her shoulder at the overweight cat sprawled across her blankets "Remember to smoke outside"

Her mother called out again, a note of impatience entering her voice.

"Brittany hurry up , your sister's already in the car"

She jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen where she saw a brown lunch bag and a banana sitting on the counter. Her mother pointed to the fruit as she walked past Brittany and into the hall.

"You can eat that on the way to school, since you missed breakfast"

Brittany tucked her lunch into her school bag and grabbed her trainers, sliding them on before following her mother out onto the driveway where her 9 year old sister, CJ, sat impatiently, frowning out of the car window. Brittany opened the car door and climbed in next to her, ignoring the glare she received for holding them up and slowly unpeeling her banana.

As they drove along, morning radio softly playing in the background, Brittany's mother suddenly remembered something.

"Oh Britt, honey, I've got that jacket in the back of the car. I picked it up from the dry cleaners yesterday with your dad's suits"

Brittany looked up from the fruit she was eating and swallowed hurriedly

"Did the coffee stains come out?"

"Oh I didn't check, but I'm sure it's fine. It was only a tiny bit where it rubbed on your uniform, and it was on the inside of the jacket anyway so it should be alright"

She looked at Brittany through the rearview mirror

"Anyway, I thought you said Quinn's mom didn't even wear it anymore"

Brittany shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had told her mother that the jacket belonged to Judy Fabray, that she had spilled coffee all over herself at Quinn's house and her mom had lent her the jacket to wear home over her ruined cheerios uniform. Her mother had tutted at Brittany's clumsiness but taken the jacket from her, promising to take it to the dry cleaners the next day. She had come into her room that night, asking Brittany why Judy Fabray would give her such an expensive jacket to cover her uniform when surely Quinn had some old jumper that would have done just as well? Brittany had stuttered out something about the jacket being last season, about Quinn's mom only wearing new clothes, to which her mother had rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the sheer decadence of the Fabray's and left the room.

Looking back Brittany wasn't even sure why she had lied about it to begin with, she hadn't done anything wrong, she didnt need to keep it a secret. But she just felt like she wanted to. The way the woman had been so kind, softly patting Brittany's shoulder when she saw she was upset. How she had insisted she take the jacket, even telling her she looked nice in it. And the reason they had banged into each other to begin with, she didnt understand how that had happened herself, how she had been so captivated by her. She didn't want to explain that to anyone, she wouldn't know where to start and her biggest concern, she didn't want to get the woman in trouble. She knew it had mainly been her own fault and it would hardly be a sackable offence for the teacher but she didnt even want to risk finding out if there was a punishment for that kind of thing.

She met her mother's gaze in the mirror,

"She doesn't..but you know what Mrs Fabray is like..."

She let her sentence tail off and her mother nodded understandingly

"I do. But I'm sure it's fine. You worry too much Brittany"

At this point CJ, who had been sitting quietly, huffed loudly and pointed her face to look out the window, muttering

"She doesn't worry about me getting to school"

Their mother raised her eyes with an amused look "Oh CJ, don't be so dramatic honey..."

Brittany turned to look at her sister, bemused

"Why are you so desparate to get to school all of a sudden C?"

The younger girl let out an angry sigh and crossed her arms

"You don't even care about my life...I've already told you like 6 times"

Brittany held her palms up to the sky and looked at her mother for help

" I don't even..what?..What is she talking about?"

"Today is an important day for Claudia, Brittany. It's the results for class president, remember?"

"Ohhh, of course I forgot...I'm sorry CJ, I've just been really busy"

"Today is an important day for Brittany too, CJ. She has her new class today"

Brittany frowned, she had forgotten about that. On wednesday morning she had been called into the office with Quinn and a few other girls who were on the cheerios for a meeting with Figgins at breaktime. Puck had tagged along as he wanted to talk to Quinn about a duet they were planning for Glee club so they all arrived together to find Dave Karofsky and a load of other jocks standing around, obviously having been summoned there too. After a few minutes of speculation, they had been called into the principal's office where they had all been given new timetables.

Quinn had noticed the change first "Government?...I never picked Government as an elective"

Figgins had spread his hands wide "That is the problem! You didn't pick anything Ms. Fabray...none of you did"

Quinn was indignant "No, no this isn't right. We have cheerleading in this period" She gestured at the girls sitting next to her "We don't have time for another class"

Everyone had objected, the office choatic with everyone talking at once, but eventually Figgins had made it clear that there wasn't an option. They would take Ms. Lopez's Government class or they would take detention every night until the end of the year.

"Ms. Lopez's class?" Puck had interjected from his seat behind Quinn, speaking up for the first time since he had been swept along with everyone else into the office

"What are you doing in here Mr Puckerman? You are not on the list"

"I have to be in that class Principal Figgins"

Everyone in the room stared at him confusedly

"What are you talking about Noah? You already take a class in that period"

Puck pushed his way to the front of the group and stood directly in front the principal, desperation on his face

"Please, listen to me...I have to take that class. I had this ephipany, a few weeks ago, a moment of complete clarity, it was like a light turned on in my brain and suddenly I just knew what I wanted to do with my life...and I have to get in that Government class to do it"

He paused for effect and then declared to the room,

"I'm gonna be the Jewish Obama"

Surprisingly it had worked, and although the rosters had already been printed, Puck was allowed to write his name underneath the other students and join the class starting on friday. He swapped the elective he was already taking, Spanish, with one of the cheerleaders and they both left the office cheerfully, the only ones happy with their new timetables.

And now it was today and Brittany thought about it with a grimace. Her mother saw the look and questioned her

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be pleased about taking a new class. You always say Coach Sylvester works you too hard and now get to have a new elective instead"

Brittany shrugged "I know but, Government...it's gonna be so hard and kind of boring and the teacher, Mrs Jackson, she doesnt really like m-"

Her mother cut her off,

"Brittany, honey, you'll be fine. I think it's going to be good for you. You'll have Quinn, and lots of those nice kids from Glee and I'm sure the teacher just adores you...oh, honey, remember to get the jacket out the car to give to Judy"

They pulled up outside McKinley and Brittany leant over the seat to give her mom a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah ok, bye mom"

She opened the door and climbed out, running around to the boot and lifting out the jacket carefully. Before going into school she went back round to the passenger seat and leant in quickly.

"Hey sis" CJ begrudgingly turned to look at Brittany who blew her a kiss.

"Claudia Jean for class president" she said , before turning and running over meet Quinn who stood waiting for her on the sidewalk.

...

Santana sat behind her desk, waiting for her students to arrive. Aside from the original five who had actually chosen her class, she was expecting 5 new kids, 2 girls and 3 boys. Kurt was the first to arrive, 5 minutes early, immediately complimenting her on her immaculate new Helmut Lang trouser suit which she had known he would love when she put it on that morning.

That was the one good thing about her parents, the ridiculous amount of money they had always given her. Instead of attention she had been given crazy amounts of pocket money, instead of birthday presents she had been given the cash to buy her own, which she had never really done, not having had the time or the inclination to spend it. She had saved it all away and now, now that she was earning more than enough to take care of her bills, she used her boundless savings to keep herself in the best clothes she could find. She kept it simple with classic, beautifully cut suits at work but the names were always high end. Her wardrobe was full with Burberry, Balenciaga, Gucci, Prada, and it was nice to finally have someone like Kurt who truly appreciated how nice her clothes really were. As the door opened and Sam walked in with Rachel, Santana made a mental note to wear her black Manolo Blahnik's to work on monday, Kurt would love them.

"Hi guys, take a seat" the door opened again and Blaine walked in with Mike following behind.

"We're just waiting for the new kids to arrive"

Rachel looked nervous and muttered something unintelligible to Kurt who nodded, eyes flicking guiltily to Santana. Blaine who was sitting beside them laughed

"Rachel, they aren't going to kill us..they might take some getting used to but we already know Quinn and Brittany, how bad can the others be?"

Rachel looked at him sharply "I am just worried, Blaine, that we might be at a slight disadvantage being put in a class with conscripted students, as they are more likely to be disruptive and less inclined to work"

She turned to Santana and raised her hands in front of her, palms forwards "No disrespect Ms. Lopez, I am sure you are very capable when it comes to dealing with rowdy students. I just feel that perhaps we won't all be quite on the same level...academically"

Santana stared at the girl, her brow furrowed, unsure of what to say.

"Right. I'm glad you got that out of your system Rachel, I suggest you don't repeat it when they get here..unless you like getting thrown in the dumpster, in which case, by all means go ahead."

Ignoring Rachel's attempt to explain her previous point Santana turned to the board and began to write out questions. She was planning on doing a short pop quiz just to see how much the new students knew, nothing serious.

There was a knock at the door and Santana turned around to see Brittany step into the room. They looked at each other in confusion, Brittany expecting to see the round, unnattractive face of Mrs Jackson and Santana, surprised to see the cheerleader she had spilled coffee over just days before.

"Oh, I think I have the wrong class, uh, sorry, I-"

Santana stepped towards her "Wait, what's your name?"

"Brittany Pierce. I'm meant to be taking Government, with Mrs Jackson I thought?"

"Brittany Pierce." Santana smiled, checking the roster on her desk "ummm...yes, yes you are definitely on my list...Why don't you take a seat Brittany?"

Brittany tripped her way nervously to a seat behind Kurt, beaming hello when he turned to her. Quinn and Puck arrived next, Quinn finding a seat quickly next to Brittany, determined to sulk for the whole lesson, whilst Puck grinned at Santana, pleased when she returned the smile. Finally Dave Karofsky arrived, a permanent sneer plastered on his face, flanked by his best friend Azimio. Two huge boys, towering over Santana as they sauntered into the classroom and took seats at the very back, away from the rest of the class.

"Ok, everyone's here" Santana clapped her hands together "I thought we'd start with a short pop quiz"

Sam and Mike groaned audibly.

"Short, boys..short. I promise" She looked around at the new students, her gaze finding Brittany who was listening intently "Now don't worry if you don't know any of the answers yet, it's fine, this is just meant to be kind of fun, just to see how you do"

She stepped in front of her desk and sat on the edge, placing her arms behind her and crossing her legs.

"Ok, I'll ask the question and then you guys write it down, yes Sam that means getting out some paper, and then we'll go through the answers after...ok, ready?"

She asked 15 questions in all and then gave them 5 minutes to go over their answers.

"Ok, time's up, let's go...first question, who was the 39th president?"

3 hands shot up. Rachel, Blaine and Mike.

"Rachel"

"Jimmy Carter, Ms. Lopez"

"Good..next, which state has the largest land mass?"

The same hands appeared.

"Mike, you go"

"Texas?"

"No, not Texas. You wanna try Blaine?"

"Alaska"

"Well done. Ok 3rd question, where was JFK born?"

Only 2 hands this time. Santana was surprised to see Brittany's was one of them. She nodded towards the cheerleader encouragingly.

"Brittany"

"Brookline, Massachussetts" she said proudly, ignoring the looks of amazement that surrounded her and staring straight at Santana who smiled back at her "My grandparents live there...they always tell me about it when I visit"

"Come on" said Puck "Next question, I think I know this one"

Santana broke eye contact with Brittany and looked down at her sheet of answers.

"Ok, number four, I say a person and you say what their job is ok? Right, so, Joe Biden is...?"

"Vice President" Puck shouted

"Yes, that's right. Put your hand up next time though yeah? Ok, next one, John Boehner is...?"

Quinn put her hand up, surprising herself at how much she wanted to get the answer right

"Yes, uh, Quinn is it?"

"Yeah it's Quinn...and umm, is he..speaker of the house?" she said nervously

"Yes, well done...Ok, now, Hillary Clinton is...?"

"A DYKE" shouted Karofsky from the back, much to the amusement of Azimio who laughed loudly and stuck his hand in the air for a congratulatory high five. The class sat in shocked silence, waiting for the teacher's reaction.

Santana narrowed her eyes before turning to the jock with a cold smile.

"How devastatingly original of you Dave" she deadpanned, leaving a pause "although I think her husband might have something to say about that statement"

She walked briskly over to his desk and placed her hands on his open textbook, slamming it shut without a word and leaning towards him until their faces were inches apart. He swallowed nervously, disconcerted by her proximity and flicked his eyes around the class, who watched in fascinated silence. Without breaking eye contact she slid the textbook across the desk and pushed it, open handed, into his broad chest, surprising him with the force behind it.

"Now get out of my classroom"

It was firm but quiet, barely above a whisper but the whole class heard her perfectly. Including Karofsky who scrambled to grab his bag, furious at having been humiliated in front of the whole room.

Santana walked back to the board and began to write down the different modules they would be doing throughout the year, the quiz having come to an unfortunate end.

"Oh, and Dave"

He paused at the door, jaw clenched tight with embarrassment.

"In case you were wondering, the answer I was looking for 'secretary of state'"

Her pen paused mid air and she turned her head with a patronising smile

"Just so you know for next time"

...

**I stayed up till 3.30 this morning writing this so I hope you like it. **

**Thank you so much for reviewing :)**

**I am trying to keep it as america as I can, which is hard, but I think I'm getting used it. So anyway, I'm going to bed now, I'll update hopefully tomorrow but more likely monday cause real life stuff gets in the way. **

**Thanks x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After Karofsky's dramatic exit, the rest of the lesson had passed smoothly, the students more than a litte impressed with how Santana had dealt with the boy. They listened without interruption as she explained what topics they would be studying and even Quinn admitted later to Brittany, begrudgingly, that the class might not be quite as bad as she had thought.

Azimio on the other hand, had spent the rest of the lesson in grim silence at the back, flipping idly through his textbook and looking out of the window whenever Santana spoke. But since no one had any desire to speak to him anyway, his attempts at blatant rudeness went mostly unnoticed.

After handing them all a reading list of helpful material for the course, Santana had also mentioned a possible trip coming up in December at which a ripple of interest had passed through the glee kids at the front. She thought it might be fun to take the students to the Allenn County Museum to look at the History of America exhibit they had there this winter. It probably wouldnt be a partciaulry good exhibit, but the museum was right there in Lima and it would be a good visual aid for when they started learning about the civil war. Plus, the kids seemed eager at the prospect of a day out of normal lessons, so she decided to go ahead and run it past Figgins the next time she saw him.

Checking her watch, she decided to let the kids go five minutes early. They had covered everything they needed to and Santana had some homework sheets to quickly check over before her next class. She stood up and clapped her hands together to get their attention.

"Ok good lesson everyone, let's call it a day shall we?"

She looked at Quinn, Puck and Brittany as they got up to leave.

"Well done today guys...I think you'll fit in really well in this class"

Rachel, who had presumably been waiting for a good introduction, jumped in to assure them she felt the same.

"I would like to second that Ms. Lopez" She said smiling graciously around the group "Even though I wasn't perhaps overjoyed to find out we would be learning together, I have decided that actually I was a little too hasty in my estimation and the new additions to the class, although not all agreeable," she stopped to look pointedly at Azimio as he left the room without a word "will only add a more diverse set of opinions and beliefs during debate, opening us up to new ideas and eventually, making us all better learners"

She ended with a firm nod and a tight smile, lips pressed together in barely contained excitment, looking around at her friends and misreading their silence as quiet awe.

"Ok, well, that's great Rach" said Kurt with a smirk, taking her hand and leading her towards the door "Now let's go to science"

She turned as Kurt tried to push her out into the hallway,

"Thanks Ms. Lopez, another great lesson!"

Santana laughed at the girl who had twisted out of Kurt's grip and was leaning through his arms to look back into the classroom,

"Bye Rachel"

With a firm shove he managed to get her out of the doorway, both of them laughing, before twisting his head briefly with a cheerful "See you in Glee" to the others and pulling the door shut behind him. Blaine who had been chatting with Quinn, noticed they had gone and, throwing a friendly "see you later" over his shoulder, grabbed his bag and went to catch up with his boyfriend.  
>He was closely followed by the others who filed out of the classroom together, turning to say polite goodbyes to Santana and then disappearing into the hallway, eager to discuss how Karofsky had looked like he was about to cry, and how hot Santana was. Just before the door closed behind their excited chatter, Quinn popped her head back into the room with a puzzled look.<p>

"Uh, Britt?...You coming?"

Brittany stood next to her table, packing away her things deliberately slowly and looked up at Quinn.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec"

She flicked her eyes over to Santana who was cleaning the board and pretending not to listen to their conversation.

"I just wanted to check one of my answers quick, from the quiz"

Quinn looked between Brittany and the teacher who stood preoccupied, with her back to them and raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Uh..ok?" She jerked her thumb behind her "Want me to wait?"

Brittany shook her head, smiling sweetly at her best friend

"No, it's fine. I'll meet you in History"

With one last questioning look, Quinn left, walking quickly to History with the others, intending to save the seat next to her for Brittany. She was impatient to find out why Brittany was acting so weirdly, she couldn't really care about that stupid quiz, and she also needed to ask her what she was planning on wearing to the winter formal. As best friends, they would really need to co-ordinate and Quinn already had her eye on a strapless black cocktail dress she had seen at the mall.

Back in the classroom, Santana turned from the board and smiled as though she had just noticed the cheerleader. She looked at her expectantly.

"Brittany, what can I do for you?"

The younger girl met her gaze shyly and Santana suddenly thought, surprised that she hadn't really noticed before, how remarkably attractive the girl was. At first glance Santana had taken her to be the archetypal high school cheerleader, a pretty, generic blonde with a great figure, but otherwise fairly ordinairy. But now, as she really looked at her, it seemed almost laughable that anyone would describe the girl as simply "pretty".

Brittany had the kind of face Disney princesses were based on, kind, innocent and perfectly symmetrical.

Her eyes were an unusual shape, cat like, and so vividly blue that Santana almost wondered if she was wearing contacts. Her hair, hairsprayed tightly into a high ponytail, was a warm natural blonde, still gently highlighted from long days under the sun last summer, attending mandatory Cheerios practices during the holidays. Along with her eyes and hair, the girl had pale, creamy skin which all together gave her a distinctly european look, and Santana wondered absent mindedly whether her family origins were maybe in Germany, or Sweden perhaps.

But it was her mouth that Santana thought was probably one of her best features. She had neat, straight white teeth and, although her lips weren't particularly full or wide, she had the most ridiculously beautiful smile. It lit up her whole face, and the way she smiled right now, with the mid morning sun dancing through the window behind her, framing her golden hair like a halo, lit a memory inside Santana's mind like a match.

She suddenly remembered being a young child, maybe 7 or 8, sitting uncomfortably in her smartest dress at a family wedding, and looking up at the stained glass windows of the St. Augustine church. An angel sat gazing down at her, with long yellow hair framing her beautifully ethereal face and Santana had stared back, until her abuela had rapped her sharply on the knee and hissed at her to "pay attention". But all throughout the service Santana had continued to let her eyes wander, fascinated by the blissful expression on the angel's face. Even at such a young age, she had known that it wasn't right to look at girls that way, that it wasn't normal, but something about the angel made her feel so peaceful inside that she didn't think she could tear her eyes away even if she had wanted to.

And now, 19 years later, staring at Brittany, she had felt something similiar. A serenity slowly creeping over her that was broken suddenly as she saw the cheerleader look at her questioningly, and Santana realised she hadn't heard a word Brittany had said. She blinked, forcing herself to focus on what the girl was saying and found herself hoping that she hadn't been staring too obviously.

"...back from the dry cleaners yesterday"

Dry cleaners? What was she talking about? Santana frowned in confusion as Brittany stepped towards her, one arm held out.

"I'm pretty sure there are no coffee stains on it"

Santana looked down, seeing her Jil Sander jacket in Brittany's hands and understanding at once. She had had so many other things to think about on monday that she had half forgotten lending Brittany the jacket but she now remembered, how she had yanked it off the back of her chair and forced the girl to take it. She had felt so guilty for covering the girl in coffee that she hadn't even cared that the jacket of her favourite suit might end up permanently stained, which now, examining the inside, she realised wasn't an issue anyway. It looked good as new, neatly folded and pressed, and Santana took it from the cheerleader with a smile, laying it on the desk beside her.

"You got it drycleaned?"

Brittany nodded, hoping she hadn't made a mistake, maybe it was meant to be handwashed? She should have checked the label.

"You didn't need to do that" said Santana, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She smiled up at the girl, in case Brittany mistook her gratitude for irritation and added softly "But thanks, It was really sweet of you"

Brittany blushed, relieved that she hadn't done anything wrong. She was aware that she was taking credit for something that been purely her mother's doing but with the way Santana was smiling at her now, she had never felt less guilty.

"You're welcome"

Brittany zipped up her bag and lifted it onto her shoulder, a happy blush still staining her cheeks as she walked to the door.

"Uh, Ms. Lopez?"

"Yeah?"

"I really enjoyed the lesson today...you're a really great teacher"

Santana tilted her head and smiled once again at the girl, a little embarrassed at the sincerety behind the compliment.

"Well I'm glad you liked it"

Brittany nodded to confirm that she really did and then opened the door, twisting round briefly to say "See you monday" before stepping out of the classrom and walking quickly down the hall, a few minutes late for History.  
>...<p>

Later that day, as Santana sat at her desk, silently writing up lesson plans, she heard a low buzz coming from her handbag. Distractedly she reached in and pulled out her blackberry, freezing when she saw the name flashing on the screen. Crap. She had completley forgotten to sort this out on monday. She closed her eyes, bringing the phone up to her ear with a weary sigh and pressed down hesitantly on the green button.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Santana? It's Taylor"

Well yeah, thought Santana irritatedly

"Hey"

"How are you? I called monday but you didn't pick up, and then I called tuesday but your phone was off"

"Yeah sorry, I've been super busy" She struggled for an excuse "I just started this new job and -"

"Oh how's that going by the way?" Taylor interrupted

"It's going well, kind of hectic, the first week and everything, but I like it"

"That's great...so, are you busy tonight?"

Santana grimaced, this is what she had been waiting for

"Um, actually yeah, sorry Tay but I'm kinda beat" she rested her forehead in her free hand, already sick of the conversation "Do you mind if I give it a miss?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line

"...no, it's fine. Maybe some other time?"

Santana smiled into the phone, thankful that Taylor wasn't going to make this difficult.

"Sure"

"Ok, have a good weekend. I'll call you next week"

Oh I'm sure you will, thought Santana hanging up.

She didnt mean to be so harsh, but there just was something about the woman that drove her insane. From the moment they had been introduced last year, they had shared a love/hate relationship, the love part being focused mainly on Taylor's side. They had met through mutual friends, and after hooking up a few times after drunken nights out, they had fallen into a kind of pattern. Neither of them were seeing anyone, so it made sense that when one of them didn't feel like spending the night alone that they would meet up, have great sex and then forget about it in the morning. Only Taylor seemed to have forgotten that last part, and her calls had recently become increasingly frequent.

It's not that Santana didn't find the other woman attractive, she definitely did. Taylor was tall and tan, with california style good looks and long wavy blonde hair. But that was it, there was nothing else about her that Santana particularly liked, and spending time with her had quickly become a chore.

Santana had tried to phase her out, she knew that the woman wanted a relationship with her and cutting Taylor out of her life seemed to be the only way she could make it clear that she wasn't interested. She had ignored the phonecalls and the emails, she had avoided the bars she knew Taylor liked to hang out at, and after awhile the other woman had seemed to get the message. But then Santana had ruined the whole thing.

A few months before she took the job at McKinley,she had had an interview at the mayor's office. It was mid summer and he needed a chief strategist to oversee his re-election campaign for the vote in November. Santana was just coming to the end of a temporary cover job at a high school in Delphos and had been looking for something new when she heard about it. Ordinarily she would never have even bothered applying, knowing that she didn't have enough experience, but she had a friend, Mark, who already worked with the mayor as a financial advisor and he had recommended her for the job.

And surprisingly, after sending her CV, she had received an email saying he was interested in seeing her and would the next day be convenient? She had rung Mark up to tell him straight away, thanking him for helping her out and they had agreed to meet for dinner when she had finished with the mayor.

She had arrived at the interview, excited and well prepared, wearing a beautiful black shift dress by Burberry with her hair swept up in a sleek ponytail. As she sat waiting outside the office, she could hear the mayor talking loudly on the phone, his gruff voice carrying out of the door left slightly ajar.

"-no, no I'm busy this afternoon...I'm interviewing again, still haven't found anyone for the job...no, I shouldn't think so...well they were all men, and that was my problem last time. The men already support me...it's the minority groups I need to get on board"

Santana had frowned, a horrible feeling of dread settling in her chest as leant forward to listen carefully

"...well actually, I think I've got it sorted...yep, I'm expecting her for an interview in about 10 minutes...no, no, even better...you want me to tell you?...you won't guess...she's a spic"

She froze, her mouth had dropped open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been about to march into his office and punch him in the face when she'd heard his booming voice blare out again.

"...that's not even the best part...apparently she's a dyke as well"

He had laughed loudly as bile rose in Santana's throat, his words slamming into her with so much force she could barely breathe. Her anger had been extinguished in a second, replaced with a crushing humiliation that threatened to cripple her if she hadn't left straight away.

"...we got ourselves a 3 in 1"

Reaching out a hand to steady herself, she had swallowed back the tears that painfully pricked her eyes and pushed herself firmly out of the chair. Without a backwards glance she'd marched out of the city hall and into town square plaza, walking blindly until she reached her car and threw herself in. There had been so many emotions coursing through her body, threatening to overcome her, that she had shut her eyes tightly, leaning back against the headrest and taking deep, rythmic breaths.

How had he known? Had Mark told him? She thought it seemed unlikely, but she couldn't think of any other way of him finding out. Obviously her parents knew, and her close friends, but it was never something she shouted about. She didn't like telling people her personal business and growing up, her family had always made her feel like it was something embarrassing, something to be kept a secret.

And he'd called her a 'spic'? She pulled a face in disgust. Racist prick.

She had sat in the car until it got dark outside, replaying what had happened in her head and trying to figure out what she should have done. She knew she should have confronted him, but the shock had disarmed her and her instinct had been to run.

Her phone had buzzed a few times and she had stabbed the 'ignore' button roughly, knowing it would be Mark wondering where she was. She hadn't felt like talking to anyone right then, especially not him. She had buried her phone at the bottom of her bag and exited the car park quickly, anxious to put as much distance between herself and the mayor as possible.

On her drive home she had stopped at a gas station, picking up a large bottle of vodka and a pack of Marlborough reds, glaring at the service attendant when he looked her over appreciatively. She had gotten back in the car and started driving again, only to find herself heading for Taylor's apartment rather than her own. She had known that it was a stupid idea, that it was cruel to keep leading the woman on and then dropping her when she got sick of it. But right then she needed something, to distract her from the humiliation that ached in her chest and she knew that going home and drinking herself into unconsciousness wouldn't help.

She had turned up at Taylor's door , vodka in hand, with no explanation and no apology.

"Can I come in?"

Taylor had nodded and stood aside to let her past, not even thinking to question why this was the first time she had heard from the latina in months. Putting the vodka down on the table, Santana had turned towards her and pushed her roughly up against the wall, pressing their mouths together and frantically pulling off Taylor's shirt. Her own clothes had followed just as quickly and they'd had sex right there on the hallway floor, fast and desperate, Santana looking almost pained as she reached her orgasm.

Grabbing her things she had left without a word, slamming the car door and driving back home, angry at herself and also, inexplicably, with Taylor.

As she expected she got a call from her the next week, asking if she wanted to meet up. Santana had declined, pretending she already had plans, but had instead spent the day at home, scouring the internet for teaching jobs. She had come across the temporary position at McKinley and had applied straight away, getting an interview 3 weeks later and then finally, two weeks after that, a job offer.

And now here she was, still trying to escape Taylor when it suited her and then demanding her attention again when she felt like it.

A knock on her door brought her back to her classroom and she looked up to see Will standing in the doorway with his coat slung over his shoulder. She glanced at the clock and noticed with surprise that school had ended 10 minutes ago, she hadn't even heard the last bell.

"Hey you, happy hour down at the firehouse, everyone's going...you in?"

She sighed in relief, pushing her papers firmly to the side and picking up her things

"Yes" she said enthusiastically "I am so in"

She walked over to the door and turned off the light, strolling out into the hallway and turning when Will didn't immediately follow.

"Come on Schuester...let's go get drunk"

...

**I feel like my chapters are getting crazy long. And it is once again 3.30am and I am still up writing. It's taking over my life slightly.**

**But anyway, again, thank you so much for reviewing, it means a lot :)**

**I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I have a feeling it's going to be fairly long so hopefully you'll stick with it. **

**Santana has kind of turned into Bette Porter in my head so I'm going to try and make her more Santana-ish in the next chapter.**

**There's more Brittana coming soon don't worry, I just think it would be crazy if I went to fast with that, cause obviously Santana is a teacher and I think it would take awhile for her to see Brittany as anything other than a student. **

** But anyway, thaaannkss, and G'night x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next few weeks passed in a haze for Santana. Her new students were settling in well, finding some of the work a little difficult but surprising her with how quickly they picked it up. Unsurprisingly, Karofksy and Azimio hadn't returned since the first lesson, and although Santana did notify Figgins they were cutting class, she didn't chase it up too persistently. It was the class she looked forward to teaching the most, and she knew that having the two jocks back in the room would ruin the easy, friendly relationship she had with the other students.

Surprisingly she had still heard nothing from Sue Sylvester. The coach would definitely be aware by now that she had taken her captain and at least 5 other cheerios out of her mid day practises, but she had tried nothing to get them back. Will seemed to think Sue was planning something, but Santana hoped that maybe she had realised that 20 hours practice a week was enough and that in school time, actually attending lessons was important. But she couldn't be sure. The only time she ever saw Sue was out of her window, where she would sometimes stand to watch a few minutes of the cheerios practising. She would squint, trying to make out individual faces, unconsciously searching for a pair of soft blue eyes, that she always realised with slight disappointment were too far away to make out.

As the fall break approached, Santana was swamped with work. She had essays to grade, end of term papers to set and more pressingly, Rachel Berry to avoid. Since she had started at McKinley she had grown to dread hearing the musical knock rapping on her classroom door, a pavlovian response to Rachel's many visits. It had begun fairly harmlessly, a bright hello when they passed in the hallways, Rachel always turning up a few minutes early to class to discuss some urgent matter about the debate club, and at first Santana had been amused by the girl's enthusiasm. But it had started to get ridiculous. In the past few days Santana had barely been able to get from her car to the staffroom without being waylaid by a panting Rachel, breathless from having chased her down the hallway.

"Ms. Lopez I have another idea for the democratic asso-"

"Can it wait Rachel?"

"Oh,sorry, I'll come and find you at lunch, ok?"

And Santana had wearily agreed, not wanting to hurt the girls feelings.

It wasn't that she didnt have anything helpful to offer, Santana was the first to admit that most of her ideas were actually very good, but just looking at that wide eyed face, leaning excitedly round her classroom door made Santana feel tired.

She had asked Will about it in the staffroom, after Rachel had presented her with yet another suggestion, this time for a new school club in which she would, inevitably, be the president. She had needed a teacher to agree to help set it up and as usual, Santana had been her first port of call.

"I just don't understand why she always asks me? Surely there are other teachers she could harass"

Will had paused, chewing thoughtfully and regarding her closely before putting another piece of pasta in his mouth.

"She looks up to you" he said simply

Santana pulled a face

"What?" She tutted at him across the table "No.."

"Think about it Santana...you're young, you're intelligent, you're strong" He smiled "And I don't mean to be shallow but you're hardly difficult to look at. Most of the students," here he had leaned in confidentially, gesturing with his head over to the basketball coach who had spent most of his break trying to catch Santana's eye "and at least some of the staff here are half in love with you"

She had opened her mouth to answer him and then shut it again, her eyebrows furrowed as she made a noise of disbelief in the place of words she couldn't find. Will had laughed, placing the lid back on his lunch and getting up as the bell had rung.

"Trust me Santana, you're something kinda special in this town"

She had dismissed his comments offhand, but had decided to make more of an effort to be patient with Rachel, flattered by Will's take on the situation. So on a particularly cold Thursday afternoon, about 5 minutes after school had ended, she heard a knock on her door and looked up from her desk with a smile.

"Come in"

Expecting to be greeted by the petite brunette, she was surprised to find herself staring up at Emma Pillsbury, the school guidance counsellor, who saw that she was writing and quickly apologised.

"Oh! Sorry, I thought you might be free.."

"No, it's fine, I'm not busy...Did you need something?"

"Oh..well.." She looked upwards, frowning slightly as though she were trying to remember what she was supposed to say "Will sent to me to ask you if you would watch the Glee club for half an hour tonight? He said he was sorry to just spring it on you, but he had to go and meet with Shelby Corcoran from Vocal Adrenaline, and he won't be back in time for the start of the rehearsal...it was a kind of last minute thing"

She turned her perfectly spherical eyes to the other woman, waiting for her answer

"Uh..yeah, that's fine" Santana got up from her chair, leaving her bag and jacket on the desk "Don't you usually watch the Glee club when Will is busy?"

"Oh..well yes, but I umm...have a date" she gave the other woman an embarrassed smiled as her cheeks grew pink and Santana had to restrain an eye roll. The woman was like a little girl, so coy and sickly sweet that the idea of her on an actual date with an adult man made Santana feel faintly nauseous. But she smiled and played along anyway.

"Wow...exciting"

Emma gave a little laugh and nodded, holding the door open as Santana walked past her into the hall. She locked the classroom behind her and they walked together, past the choir room and to the auditorium where Emma said the kids were running through some songs for regionals.

Emma pointed to a large sound proof door "It's right through there, if you just tell them Will should be here in about half an hour"

"Do I have to do anything?"

Emma shook her head "Oh no, they know what to do. You just have to make sure they aren't messing around or anything, which I'm sure they wont be. They're good kids. Just keep an eye on 'em"

"Ok, I can do that"

"Great" An uncomfortable silence "Well...I guess I will see you..tomorrow"

"Yeah, well, have a good night" Santana smirked and couldn't resist adding "Don't do anything I wouldn't do"

Emma gave another high, slightly nervous laugh and walked back down the hallway as Santana pushed open the theatre door and slipped in quietly. She could hear music from the stage and walked into the theatre silently, not wanting to disturb the performance. The auditorium was huge, plunged in darkness with hundreds of empty maroon seats facing a large proscenium arch stage, softly lit, on which stood Rachel Berry, eyes closed, poised to sing.

Santana vaguely remembered Will telling her on one of her first days which of her students were in Glee club but she had forgotten almost immediately and she looked around now, trying to spot any familiar faces. She thought she could just see some figures behind Rachel on the stage, but it was too dark to make them out and Santana quickly chose a seat, sitting down silently and leaning forward, waiting for Rachel to begin.

After 30 seconds, Santana became aware that her mouth was hanging open. Rachel's voice was unbelievable. She raised her eyebrows in amazement as the girl effortlessly hit another dangerously high note and blinked in disbelief. The girl really did seem to be good at everything.

After the first verse a dark haired boy, who Santana recognised as captain of the football team, walked out of the shadows behind and joined in the song. He was very tall, almost freakishly so, and there was something a little forced about the way he moved around the stage. There was nothing wrong with his voice exactly, but Rachel's was just so good that he seemed to be a unnecessary addition, and Santana couldn't help but wish he would walk back into the darkness and let the girl finish the song.

And then as the chorus began, the stage lit up and 12 more students appeared, bursting onto the stage, their voices blending perfectly. They were surprisingly good and with the exception of the giant football player, they all danced very well. Santana leant further forward, seeing Puck, Quinn, Sam and with a small jolt that she couldn't explain, Brittany, all dancing at the back, slightly obscured by Blaine, Kurt, Mike and a few others she didn't recognise. From what she could see, Brittany was a good dancer, but it wasn't until Mike grabbed her, laughing, and pulled her to the front of the stage that she saw just how good the girl was.

She seemed to dance as though gravity wasn't an issue, hitting the beat perfectly every time as she expertly moved around the stage. Compared to Brittany, the rest of the kids, who Santana had thought were pretty good dancers at first, looked jumbled and messy. They seemed to fade into the background as Brittany Stole focus even from Rachel, her blonde hair that for once was hanging loose, whipping around her shoulders as she danced. It was a fast song and Brittany's body moved quickly, always seeming to perfect the movement a split second before anyone else.

She had a startlingly impressive body, which Santana found difficult to ignore with only her tight cheerio's uniform covering it. She had taut, strong abs and her long legs, lightly tanned from the summer, were firm and toned. Santana sat up in her seat slightly, leaning forward to see as Brittany leant towards the back of the stage before a hot flush of embarrassment reminded her she was looking at a student. She blinked, averting her gaze and quickly looked around her, double checking there was no one sitting in the empty sea of seats that had seen her staring. Careful not to let her gaze stray, Santana looked back up at the stage and continued to watch the performance, a faint blush staining her cheeks.

"Hey"

She hadn't noticed Will enter the auditorium and she looked up with a faint frown as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Are you meant to be at a meeting?" she whispered

"Postponed. Shelby had a show choir emergency. One of her dancers collapsed from heat exhaustion"

"Oh...ok, well, do you mind if I stay and watch?"

He grinned "I would love you to stay, I could really use another opinion on some of their numbers" he pointed up to the stage where the first song was coming to an end "What do you think so far?"

"Will, they're amazing. I can't believe you didn't show me before." She let her eyes drift back to the stage as Brittany was being twirled by Mike during the final chorus "They're so talented"

Will followed her eyeline and nodded

"Rachel?..I know, she's pretty impressive"

"Rachel?..Oh, Yeah. She really is"

The song finished and Will stood, clapping, Santana getting up slowly to stand behind him.

"That was great guys" he gestured to Santana "And I think you've got yourselves a new fan."

From the stage, Rachel spotted her favourite teacher and waved furiously as Brittany looked over and felt her cheeks get hot. Had Ms. Lopez seen the whole performance? She tried to replay the last few minutes in her head, trying to remember if she had danced well. She could definitely do better, but she hadn't even known there was anyone watching. Did Ms. Lopez think she was good? She didn't know why she cared so much but she felt her stomach clench nervously.

Santana and Will were walking down the aisle now, coming to sit nearer the stage for the next performance. Santana was wearing one of her trademark power suits, a white fitted blouse that clung to her flatteringly and a tight, high waisted skirt, cinching her tiny waist and ending just above the knee. She wore black, sheer tights and stiletto heeled court shoes that were high enough to leave her standing just an inch below Will. As usual her hair was loose, falling in gleaming, black waves a few inches below her shoulders and she had left two buttons on her shirt undone at the top, leaving a triangle of olive skin just visible.

As she got closer, her heels tapping a muted beat on the carpeted floor, Puck let out a low whistle that only Brittany and Quinn heard. Quinn made a noise of disgust, slapping him sharply on the arm but Brittany sighed softly, not really sure if it wasn't a completely justified response to the woman in front of them.

"Ok" Will spread his hands and looked across the line of kids "You wanna show Ms. Lopez a couple more songs?"

Rachel answered for all of them "We would be happy to perform for Ms. Lopez " She beamed down at Santana "What a brilliant oppurtunity to get some constructive feedback. Maybe we should start with a solo...I would be happy to oblige-"

Will laughed as Kurt interrupted her

"Rachel, although I am sure we would all love to hear you sing the entire Evita soundtrack, for the second time...I was thinking maybe we should practise the final group number, we haven't gone through it yet on the stage and it would be good to see what Ms. Lopez thinks"

There was a murmur of agreement and Rachel stepped down graciously

"Great" Will said, nodding "That's fine by me"

The Glee club took their places as Will and Santana sat down a few rows from the front, choosing the seats in the middle for the best view. He nudged her and pointed towards Mike and Brittany.

"You know, those two choreographed this whole number"

Santana nodded along, as though she hadn't already been looking that way and Will continued

"They're pretty amazing dancers"

Santana agreed, her eyes glued to the blonde cheerleader as she stretched her arms out, getting ready to perform again.

Yeah, she thought, inhaling deeply...she'd noticed.

...

Half an hour later and the auditorium was quiet, the lights were up and the last few students hung about on the stage, chatting briefly before they left to go home.

"Ok, I'll meet you in the car, I just need to really quickly ask Berry something" Quinn held her palm up, a visual aid to the statement "I'll be five minutes, tops"

Brittany nodded up at the other blonde who turned, hastening up the aisle and out into the hallway, chasing after Rachel and Kurt who had left a few seconds before.

With a friendly wave to the remaining Glee clubbers, Brittany gathered her bag and cheerios jacket, and followed. She exited from the door on the other side of the auditorium, closer to the car park, and walked slowly out into the empty corridor.

"Hey! Brittany.."

She turned to see Ms. Lopez, her coat folded neatly over one arm and a beautiful leather handbag on her shoulder, walking hurriedly to catch up to her.

"Hey.." She was slightly breathless, smiling widely "I just wanted to say, I thought you were incredible today"

Brittany was taken aback by the compliment and found herself stumbling slightly over her words

"Oh,uh, thank you..I'm..really glad you liked it"

Santana nodded "I did. You're all brilliant. But you're dancing was just...well, it was amazing"

Embarrassed at how red she knew her cheeks were, Brittany shook her head slightly, not sure how to deal with such earnest praise and mumbled "it wasn't.._that_ good"

But Santana laid a soft hand on her arm and looked into her eyes, saying firmly "Brittany...you were incredible"

She paused

"So, you heading home?

Brittany nodded, her arm tingling from where Santana had just touched it "Yes"

"..You need a ride or anything?"

The minute the words left her mouth Santana regretted even thinking them. It was so inappropriate, she barely knew the girl, and Brittany was a student.

She swallowed nervously, not sure whether to take it back or wait for the girl's reaction.

Brittany faltered.

"Oh, well, actually Quinn just passed her test and she said she could drive me home so I guess...I'm good" She finished dejectedly. She realised Ms. Lopez was just being polite, she probably didn't even want to drive her at all, but at that moment Brittany felt more disappointed about riding with Quinn than if she'd had to walk home.

"Thanks though"

Santana smiled again, almost disappointed the girl had declined but mainly relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with such an awkward situation.

"No problem, I'll see you tomorrow anyway, in class"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow"

Brittany smiled back, lifting her hand in a wave as she carried on towards the car park, leaving a slightly uneasy Santana standing alone in the hallway, staring after the cheerleader as she disappeared out of the doors and into the cold autumn evening.

...

**Hope you like. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, I'm still surprised anyone is even reading it so seriously, thank you**

**Also, I have a feeling that Santana would be wearing 'pantyhose' in America, but in my neck of the woods we call them 'tights' so I'm sorry, that's my English colloquialisms coming through - but we all have our cross to bear.**

****Quick Note On Real Life Brittana - I love it...but seriously, will they _ever_ kiss?****

**Anyway...******Feel free to review, I would love it if you did, so go on, treat yo self. ****


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Santana sipped her coffee slowly, wrapping her gloved hands around the Starbucks cup in an attempt to warm her frozen fingers, and once again tried to stop her eyes from drifting to the tall blonde cheerleader in front of her. They stood about a metre apart, Will and Emma standing with Santana and Brittany huddled up with Quinn who was chatting animatedly.

They were stood, at 8.00am in front of the school, waiting for the bus to take them to the museum and shivering in the cold wind. It was the 1st of December and the kids had just returned from thanksgiving break, only 23 days before they broke up again for the Christmas holidays. Thanksgiving had gone by largely unobserved by Santana, who had spent the 4 days off watching 'To catch a predator' re runs on television and ignoring Taylor's insistent phone calls. She had never celebrated the holiday as a child and it seemed weird to start now, plus the thought of watching the parade alone in her apartment with a thanksgiving dinner for 1 made her cringe. So she crashed on the couch for 4 days instead, finishing all her marking, eating goldfish crackers and mouthing along with Chris Hansen "This is dateline NBC...would you take a seat?".

But the holiday had passed quickly and now, here she was, compulsively checking her watch and shivering on the side walk. Santana had convinced all 18 of her twelfth grade students to come along and they stood in little groups along the pavement, with the exception of Azimio and Karofksy, who she had simply 'forgotten' to give permission slips to. After being forced by Figgins, they had returned to her class last week to the disappointment of everyone in the room. But seeing as she could barely stand them for just one hour in the classroom, she definitely wasn't going to inflict a whole day's worth of them on herself and her other students. And she got the feeling they probably weren't so eager to spend the day with her either, so it made sense to not even bother telling them.

Santana clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering as another blast of icy wind swept past her. So far she had purposefully avoided all attempts at conversation made by Will and Emma, having woken up in a bad mood and knowing that forced small talk with the bush baby would only irritate her further. She didn't dislike Emma exactly, she just found her childish innocence and exaggerated femininity annoying, and the way she fawned over Will made Santana want to hurl. Usually she could force a diplomatic friendliness with the woman, but right now she just wanted to get on the bus and and get warm, she didn't feel up to talking until she could feel her feet again.

It really was a horribly cold morning. As it got closer and closer to Christmas, the weather had dropped accordingly and Ohio was currently enjoying one of it's icyest December's 1st's on record. There was a light sprinkling of fresh snow on the ground, gradually melting into slush, and the roads had been covered with salt grit every day that week.

She took a last mouthful of her drink, before pushing it into the bin behind her and watched as Puck joined Quinn and Brittany, throwing his arm casually over the smaller blonde's shoulder. He was closely followed by Mike and Sam who stood to the side of the girls, throwing between them a gradually disintegrating snowball that was mainly ice anyway. Completing the group, Blaine, Rachel and Kurt made room in the huddle, Rachel dwarfed by the huge duffel coat she had on. As they shuffled into the group, Puck must have done something to annoy Quinn, as she shook his arm off of her irritatedly and made a point of going to stand next to Blaine.

Not being able to stop her eyes flicking to Brittany, Santana noticed with a faint frown that the girl was visibly shaking with the cold. As usual she was wearing her cheerios uniform, with a heavy letterman style jacket over the top that had her name in a looping cursive on the back. She wore a red scarf, wound tightly around her neck and partly covering her mouth but she had no hat and no gloves. Her cheeks and nose were tinted red by the frigid air and she had balled her hands into fists, tucking them tightly under her crossed arms. Looking down, Santana was pleased to see that she had at least put on a pair of sheer skin coloured tights under her cheerios skirt, but her legs still shook slightly, her whole body tensed against the freezing wind.

A tall black boy standing with a group from her other class leant around his friends to call out to Santana.

"Ms. Lopez?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this bus coming, or...?"

Santana looked at the clusters of hopeful students who turned to hear her answer and pushed up the sleeve of her trench coat to check her watch again. The bus driver was exactly 7 minutes late.

"Of course it's coming" It came out a little sharper than she intended, but she was freezing and watching Brittany shiver made her feel even colder.

"The roads are really icy, I'm sure he's just driving super carefully..Just wait"

Will and Emma turned to look at her

"You ok Santana?"

"I'm fine"

They exchanged a look and Will tried again, gently asking

"You want me to ring the driver? See if he's on his way"

Santana sighed

"Yeah I guess"

As Will got out his phone to ring the driver, Santana saw Mike and Sam edge behind Brittany, hands over their mouths to stop from laughing. In his glove Sam held the remains of the snowball they had been messing around with. As Mike watched excitedly, he quickly pulled Brittany's jacket away from her neck and pushed the ice down the back of her cheerio's top. She squealed loudly, her eyebrows shooting up and her mouth forming a perfect O in shock. Ripping off her scarf and jacket she stuck her hand down the back of her tight uniform frantically, pulling at it desperately as she tried to release the snow that burned painfully.

Feeling soft hands on her shoulder she stopped, allowing Santana to reach just under her top and brush the ice away, the wool of her gloves tickling Brittany's exposed skin. And then the warm hands were gone and Brittany wrapped her arms around her torso as the wind blew against her bare shoulders. Now the immediacy of the cold had gone, Brittany felt stupid and as she looked around to see most of the assembled students watching her, her cheeks blushed red.

Santana reached down, picking the girls jacket off the floor, stony faced as she saw the back covered with ice and grit. She looked at Sam and Mike, eyebrows raised. They stared back guiltily, visibly sorry as they saw Brittany shivering sadly. The rest of the Glee kids watched apprehensively, they had thought it was pretty funny at first but looking at Santana's face they realised that laughter was not the correct response and turned to look at the two boys disapprovingly.

"You're idiots" Santana stated coldly, "Grow up"

She turned to Brittany and reached out to grab her wrist, tugging gently

"Come on, I have something you can put on in the car. You can't wear this" she said, gesturing to the dripping jacket.

As she led the girl to the car park Will called out to her

"He'll be about 5-10 minutes, apparently the traffic's really bad"

She twisted her head and nodded at him to show she'd heard

"Yeah ok" she called back

They walked round the side of the school, Santana very aware that she was still holding Brittany's wrist and came to a stop by an immaculate black Mercedes Coupé. It had been a graduation present to herself and she could tell by Brittany's raised eyebrows that she was impressed.

She let go of Brittany's wrist and dug in her pocket to find her keys. Opening the trunk she shook Brittany's jacket to get the worst of the snow off and then laid it down inside her car carefully.

"I can keep it in here till we get back from the museum if you like" she looked up at Brittany who was watching her closely "There's no point carrying it around"

Brittany smiled "Thanks"

"Just remind me when we get back to school"

Brittany nodded and Santana leant into the back of her car, reaching forward to grab an oversized grey jumper that was tucked behind the car repair kit she didn't know how to use. It was her old college jumper, the 'Ohio State Buckeyes' logo printed in the middle and her name stitched in red thread to the right, above it. She kept it in the car in case she got cold on long drives and it was slightly rumpled from where she hadn't folded it neatly the last time she put it back.

She held it out to Brittany, slightly embarrassed that she was offering her a jumper that would be far too big for her and hadn't been out of Santana's car for at least a month. Brittany smiled, as though this was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her, and eyed the logo before pulling it over her head.

"You played college football?" She asked, when her head had re-emerged

Santana looked at her questioningly before guessing she was referring to the jumper and laughing slightly

"Oh, no" she smiled "I was a cheerleader"

"Really? At college?...you must have been pretty good"

"Well I was captain in high school" Santana didn't know why she was showing off all of a sudden but the way Brittany looked at her admiringly made her continue "and then co-captain at Ohio State"

"Wow" Brittany paused "I guess you were really good then"

Santana shrugged, smiling, in a way that clearly agreed that yes, she was pretty good and busied herself in the trunk, making sure everything was tidy and folding Brittany's jacket neatly into the corner.

Brittany studied the jumper again, pulling the material out to the side so she could read the name.

"Santana..."

"Yeah?"

Brittany looked up "That's your name?..."

Santana nodded

"I like it"

Santana felt herself blushing for no reason at all and turned to the trunk, pushing it shut so she didn't have to look into Brittany's piercing blue eyes.

"Santana! Brittany!...come on the bus is here"

She looked over to see Will standing at the entrance to the car park, beckoning them over hurriedly.

She turned to Brittany, who had tucked her hands into the sleeves of the jumper that fell to just above the hem of her cheerio's skirt. Santana tried not to ask herself if it was weird that for the second time in a month, Brittany was borrowing her clothes.

"Let's go, I'm freezing"

Brittany flashed her a bright smile, her teeth gleaming white as they walked towards Will.

"Me too"

When they reached the sidewalk, Brittany turned before running to join her friends where Sam and Mike were waving her over, anxious to apologise.

"Thanks Ms." She paused, wanting to say something else, but not really sure what.

"You're kind of great"

Santana laughed, ignoring how her stomach had flipped at Brittany's words and was relieved when Will smiled too, relieving the tension she had felt under the cheerleader's stare.

"Yeah she is pretty great" he agreed "You're lucky to have such a good teacher" before shepherding Brittany and the rest of the students onto the bus.

Santana sat with Will at the front, quickly joined by Emma who had been busy sorting out a minor disagreement between two boys at the back.

Emma slid in behind them and put her head over the red vinyl of their seat, looking between them with a gentle smile.

"All set?"

Santana smiled back, surprised at the lack of irritation she felt with Emma's head practically resting on her shoulder, and nodded.

"All set"

...

**Okayy, embarrassing for me, I thought fall break was thanksgiving break so that's what I meant when I said it last chapter. I'll go back and change it at some point. **

**4 points for iwasalsothelipsinrockyhorror for getting the whole Taylor / Heather Morris's real life boyfriend thing. I'm not trying to make a Heya point, I just thought it would be funny, and I was right...it's hilarious.**

**Also, I know there seems to just be an awful lot of blushing and smiling going on at the moment between them but I promise it will get good soon, I'm settin tha scene guys.**

**I'm putting this up now cause I'll be away all weekend so I won't update again till maybe Monday? So if there are mistakes, I'm sure there will be, then I'm sorry but that is the price we must all pay for a hastily written update.**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews, really, I feel so happy and loving towards you all when I read them. Seriously, so thanks :)**

**x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Britt!" Quinn beat her hand impatiently on the empty seat next to her "Come sit here"

"What?" Puck looked at her questioningly. He had been about to sit down but with a sigh she pushed him sharply further along, nodding at Mike and Sam who had chosen seats at the very back with the others from Glee club.

"Go sit with them. I have to talk to Brittany"

His face set in confused annoyance

"What is your problem Quinn? First you freak out when I put my arm around you this morning, and now I can't even sit with you?"

He leant closer, his back to Brittany who stood awkwardly behind him, waiting to sit down.

"Do you even want to go to prom with me? Cause if you don't, just say. It doesn't matter to me you know. There are loads of other girls who would love to be my girlfriend"

Quinn rolled her eyes

"Loads, huh? Well don't turn them down on my account Noah...and, again, I'm not your girlfriend anyway. Now can you let Brittany sit down please?"

She reached around him, grabbing the other girl's hand and dragging her forward, Puck having to shift down the aisle slightly so she could get through. Brittany squeezed past and sat down, feeling uncomfortable when Quinn looked up at him still standing there and raised her eyebrows.

"You gonna go sit down or...?"

He made a noise of barely contained frustration and reluctantly walked down the bus, throwing himself angrily into the empty seat beside a wary looking Rachel. Sam and Mike tried to engage him in conversation but he ignored them, preferring to stare at the back of Quinn's head in contemplative silence, his handsome face heavy with irritation.

"God, he is such a nightmare"

Brittany smiled and regarded her friend questioningly

"Quinn, are you serious? He just wanted to sit with you, and you were really mean"

Quinn made a noise of protest "I wasn't mean! You don't know how annoying he is. He never leaves me alone, he's always calling me, and he never stops touching me and..and it just drives me insane"

Brittany laughed "But you're basically dating, he's supposed to do that."

Quinn looked at her with a frown and leant back against the seat, her voice tired

"Yeah, I know"

Brittany's smile faded and she laid a comforting hand on her friend's arm

"What's wrong Q?...Have you two had a fight?"

She shook her head

"No, it's not anything like that. Although I feel like it would be easier if it were"

Brittany tilted her head in confusion "I don't get it, what do you mean? Don't you like him anymore?"

"I do like him" Quinn paused thoughtfully "I just don't want to be his girlfriend. But he keeps asking me, and I feel bad, and everyone expects me to. I kind of feel like I don't have a choice"

"Of course you have a choice Q, but I'm kind of surprised you don't want to. I thought you two were getting serious?"

Brittany narrowed her eyes, this whole thing seemed kind of sudden. Quinn had talked about Puck non stop the summer before senior year, and when he had finally asked her to prom a few months ago she had been so happy she hadn't stopped smiling for a week. Something must have happened for her to change her mind so completely in such a short space of time.

"Do you like someone else?"

Quinn looked at her carefully, her eyes drifting downwards as she noticed the jumper Brittany was wearing.

"Did Ms. Lopez give you that? It's a cheerleading jumper, right?" She leant forward to read the red stitching "Is her name Santana?"

Brittany just punched her shoulder gently, refusing to be distracted "Come on Q..you can tell me, who is it?"

Quinn opened her mouth to speak, struggling for a reply before shutting it again, shaking her head.

"I..no..that's not the reason"

Brittany didn't believe her for a second but she didn't push any further, instead asking gently

"Are you still going to prom together?"

Quinn nodded slowly "To be honest that's the only reason I haven't told him how I feel yet...I would really hate to go alone, and.."

She looked faintly embarrassed as she went on

"-well, we're still the most popular kids in school...and I really want to be homecoming queen"

Brittany was about to reply when they heard a loud squeal behind them, ruining the quiet moment they'd been sharing. Quinn turned in her seat to see what the noise was, her mouth falling slightly open in bewilderment as her eyes registered the scene behind her.

"What the fuck is he doing to Berry?"

Brittany twisted round, seeing Puck energetically tickling a helpless Rachel, whose genuine attempts to stop him kept dissolving into unwilling giggles that she couldn't seem to control. She was half collapsed in her seat, weakly batting his hands away as he leant over her, not letting up as her cries became almost hysterical.

"God, is she ok?"

Puck noticed Quinn and Brittany watching out of the corner of his eye and leant closer to the brunette with a grin, pleased that they were finally paying attention. This was the culmination of some loud, obvious flirting that he been putting on for at least 5 minutes, all for Quinn's benefit and now as half the bus watched him torture Rachel, he only noticed her.

He had began chatting with the the brunette in the hopes that Quinn would see and get jealous, maybe even make him swap places with Brittany. But up until now she had been oblivious, and Rachel hadn't exactly been helpful. He could only assume she didn't understand he was flirting, as she had looked more affronted than charmed when he asked her what panties she was wearing.

She had turned to him with a noise of disgust, her face screwed up as though his words had physically hurt her "Ugh..that is awful Noah, what is wrong with you?"

And then after a brief, appalled silence, she had answered curtly "But if you must know, they are white. With a kind of stitched motif on the front, in silver thread, that looks like a star"

He had breathed out heavily, folding his arms in failure as he realised he had sat next to the wrong girl

"Right..well they sound great"

Noting his sarcasm, Rachel had pressed her lips together and looked pointedly out the window, wishing he hadn't sat beside her

"Yes, well I like them"

But then, with a smile, he had remembered a time in Glee club the year before, when Kurt had jokingly tried to tickle the singer and she almost fallen off her chair as she tried to smack his hands away. She had thrown herself backwards, her chair tipping dangerously as she yelled that she was actually really ticklish and it wouldn't be funny at all, so would he just sit back down now and stop messing around. At the time Kurt had backed off straight away, anxious to quieten her shrill voice but with the memory, Puck had pounced, Rachel doubling up with a shocked whimper as his fingers dug into her sides.

She had seemed angry and taken aback at first, feebly trying to push him off in surprise "Noah..what..are you doing?..get off me now!..get off" until uncontrollable, painful laughter swept away the tide of her protests and encouraged Puck to go on.

Quinn looked at Brittany, her pretty face hard with anger

"Everything he does is for attention. Look at him, trying to make me jealous"

"...by making Rachel cry?"

But Quinn didn't hear her as she was already climbing over the seat and into the aisle, storming towards Puck and grabbing his arm to yank him off the now choking brunette.

"What are you doing, you idiot?"

He looked up at her smugly, misreading her fury as jealousy.

"Sorry babe, didn't notice you there. I was just messing around with Rach"

Quinn looked at the girl who was now sitting up straight, red in the face, her eyes streaming.

"Messing around? It looked more like assault"

Rachel nodded weakly in agreement, coughing as she tried to get her breath back.

"Guys, what's the problem? Quinn you shouldn't be out of your seat"

From the front of the coach, Will had noticed the commotion at the back and had come to settle the situation down. He stood just behind Quinn, looking at them with a frown.

Rachel leant forward to get his attention, drying her face with her sleeve "Mr Schue, I have to sit somewhere else. Puck is insane"

"What? Look Quinn can you sit down please and Rachel, uh, just wait a second" He turned to Puck as Quinn pushed past them, returning to her seat with a fleeting backwards glance at the shorter brunette who met her stare quickly before looking away.

"Right Puck, what happened?"

"Nothing, we were just kidding around"

"Then why is Rachel crying?"

The singer interrupted "I'm not crying, my eyes were just watering" but Will ignored her

"It's always you Puck. Can't you just keep out of trouble for once?"

"I'm sorry alright?" He put his palms in the air defensively "I was tickling her for christ sake, I didn't know she'd freak"

Will stared at them both

"You were tickling her?...Rachel, is that right?"

She nodded "Yes, he was tickling me, completely unsolicited I might add."

"Why was Quinn involved?"

Puck smirked and answered smugly "I guess she doesnt like it when I'm friends with other girls"

Rachel interjected again "We aren't friends, he attacked me"

"Right" Will struggled to find an appropriate response "Well, Puck...maybe you could try and keep your hands to yourself for the rest of the day, yeah?"

Puck rolled his eyes "Yeah"

"And Rachel..." He paused. It wasn't really her fault, but she had been making such a lot of noise. He had been worried at first that something serious had happened. He tried to make his voice gentler to show he wasn't really blaming her but firm enough that she knew he was serious "Try not to be so overdramatic."

"Mr Schue! I didn't even want him to sit with me, he nearly made me sick, this is ridiculously unfa-"

He put out a hand to stop her

"Rachel..please?"

She looked extremely put out but nodded anyway, still reeling from her struggle with Puck and not in the mood for an argument.

He walked back up the aisle, smiling at Quinn who was back next to Brittany and had been watching the exchange in silence.

"Stay in your seat till we get there, yeah?"

She nodded and he gave her a patronising thumbs up before returning to the front, where they saw him lean over the seat to tell Ms. Lopez and Ms. Pillsbury what had happened.

Quinn folded her arms with an irritated sigh

"What is he even doing here anyway? He teaches spanish"

"Helping out I guess. I think he's pretty good friends with Ms. Lopez"

Quinn smirked angrily "Yeah, I bet they're really good _friends_." She shot the other cheerleader a knowing look "I wonder what she did for her 'friend' to get him to come on this stupid trip"

Brittany rolled her eyes. Clearly the other girl was still pissed with Puck and wanted to vent her frustration, but Brittany didn't feel like humouring her.

"Whatever Q"

Quinn seemed to realise that she was being ridiculous and she fell quiet, sitting in near silence for the rest of the journey, lost in her thoughts. Every couple of minutes she would turn her head and glare at Puck, making sure he wasn't harassing any of her other friends and ignoring him when he tried to mouth words at her. Next to him Rachel sat edged up to the window, staring out at the icy roads with a martyred expression and willfully ignoring all his half hearted attempts at apologising.

Brittany didn't notice any of this. She sat nestled into her borrowed jumper, the sleeves pulled over her hands and the hood bunched comfortably around her neck whilst she listened to her ipod. The material was soft inside, cosily snug and when Brittany inhaled she could smell the lingering scent of Santana's perfume, warm and heady. It reminded her of family camping trips to the lake when she was younger, sitting beside a camp fire, roasting marshmallows with towering trees all around them, the scent from the dying fire and the forest relaxing her as she fell asleep. It was like all those things, mixed with chocolate, cinnamon and sunshine. It was perfect, and Brittany breathed in deeply, jumping slightly when Quinn nudged her hard, pulling one of her headphones out and looking at her expectantly.

"Brittany, come one, move"

"Huh?"

She pointed out of the window to the large, stately building they had just pulled up outside, her face unenthusiastic

"We're here"

...

Santana looked down at the pamphlet again, her manicured finger gliding lazily down the page

"It says they have a projection room upstairs, and they show short films 4 times a day..."

She flipped the page

"The film today is about the end of slavery and the period of reconstruction afterwards."

Will looked at her blankly and gestured to the sea of 20 students in front of them.

"Is that what they're studying?"

"It's close enough."

They had been at the museum for an hour, and it had taken Santana less than half that time to realise the trip had been a bad idea. The exhibit was small, only one room, and was clearly aimed at much younger students, the information presented simply and mainly through bright colours and illustrations. Their tour guide was a 30 something, self righteous man called Tony, with slicked back black hair and a pair of cuban heels that still only put him at about 5'8. He was completely useless, knowing less about the exhibit than even Will did and seemed far more concerned with chatting up Santana than teaching the kids anything.

Despite his limited knowledge, he had managed to make the tour last at least half an hour longer than was necessary, spinning it out so he could impress Santana with random facts he'd clearly learnt from the museum information booklet. And most of them he seemed to have learnt wrong anyway.

"Of course when the civil war ended after 6 years of battle-"

"4 years"

He had turned to Santana with a condescending smile

"I'm sorry?"

"The civil war lasted 4 years. You should probably know that if you work in a history museum"

He had looked uncomfortable for a second, but then seemed to decide that he liked feisty women, it was more of a challenge that way.

He had laughed, trying to include all the kids in his joke

"I better watch out, your teacher's after me"

She had smiled coldly, already bored of being polite to this idiot

"I can assure you I'm not"

But he was incorrigible, shamelessly flirting until the last minute of the tour, where he had cornered her to present a map and pamphlet for the museum, winking as he said

"Maybe one day you should come down and teach me about the civil war. I think I might need a history lesson"

She had taken the proffered booklets with a slight grimace as their hands touched.

"Yes you do need one, definitley"

He smiled suggestively

"So maybe you could be my teacher? I don't know if you're free on sataurday?"

She wanted to punch him in the face. But a quick look around at her students wandering around the exhibit reminded her that she was a teacher and it really wouldn't be appropriate.

So she had leant forwards, her voice low

"Tony, is it?"

He nodded dumbly, half intoxicated by having her so close to him

"Well, Tony...or Danny Devito as I've been calling you in my head for the last hour...I'm going to have to turn down your hideous offer, as the thought of spending any more time with you than I absolutely have to makes me want to take that confederate sword over there and cut my own throat. So why don't you get together with Al Pacino and Tom Cruise or who ever else is in your little pint sized Napoleon club, call up Nicholas Sarkozy and maybe you could all go down to france for the weekend and treat yourself to some fancy new heels?...Because you certainly wont be spending it with me"

He had seemed confused "Sooo..you don't want to?"

She smiled at him in mock amazement, surprised at how quickly she could return to 'high school bitchy Santana'.

"Wow Tony, you're quick"

She had turned then, going to re join Will and Emma and letting them know with a roll of her eyes she would tell them what had happened later. Will had asked her if there was anything else in the museum worth seeing and she had looked down at the information programme, deciding the projection room was the best idea. It was too early to take the kids back anyway, so they would watch the film and then they could probably waste about an hour for lunch, and then a further hour discussing the exhibit. And then, thought Santana with relief, they could finally leave.

"Ok, it's through here, at the back of the west hall and on the left side" She double checked the map whilst Emma and Will rounded all the kids up, leaving Tony still dumbfounded as he watched Santana go.

The west hall wasn't difficult to find and a good looking boy outside, dressed like an old fashioned theatre usher, told them the 11.00 film was about to start and showed them in with a large silver flashlight.

"You're the only group today so you can sit where you like"

The room was set out like an old cinema, with rows of plush red velvet seats, all facing a blank projector screen that shone white, giving the room a dull glow. There were 5 seats to every row and the students bustled in, quickly taking up most of the space. Quinn and Brittany were the last to go in, having lagged behind briefly when the handsome usher had tried to flirt with them and once they went through the curtain there weren't many places left over. The closest seats were at the back next to the teachers but at the front Puck had saved two spaces, looking up at them hopefully. Quinn turned away from his pitiful expression and nudged Brittany towards the back.

"Let's sit there, next to Ms. Lopez"

Hearing her name, Santana looked up and gave the girls a quick smile which encouraged them to go forward and sit down. Quinn went in front, choosing the seat closest to the aisle and swinging her legs to the side so Brittany could get past, to the seat next to their teacher. Santana gave her a quiet "Hiya" as she sat down and Brittany beamed back as the projector clicked on.

The film began, numbers flickering onto the screen in a countdown, like a 1940's movie.

Santana took a deep breath and tried to concentrate, moving her arm onto the connecting arm rest just as Brittany did the same thing. Their arms bumped together and the blonde girl murmured a quiet "Sorry" into the darkness.

Moving so she was only taking up half of it, Santana whispered back "we can share it", smiling when she felt Brittany lift her arm back, brushing lightly against her own.

On the screen, an actor dressed as Abraham Lincoln was marching around as a monotone narrator began to speak. Santana tried to listen but the feeling of Brittany's hand an inch away from her was distracting, goosebumps raising on her olive skin. She flexed her hand, feeling it briefly connect with the other girl's wrist and tried to ignore the nervous flutter in her stomach. Unable to stop herself she was about to move her arm again, when she saw Will lean towards her and she flinched away from Brittany, suddenly feeling as though she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have been.

Folding her hands into her lap, she answered his question about the film with forced casualness, glad she knew the subject well as she hadn't been paying attention at all. When he turned away, she kept her hand resting on her leg, trying not to let herself analyse the reason she felt so uncomfortable putting it back and trying to concentrate on the film.

She was just being friendly. Brittany was a sweet girl and she liked her, it was normal for a teacher to warm to certain students. She was just being nice when she suggested they both use the arm rest, it wasn't weird, Brittany hadn't thought it was weird. She had had a lot in common with Brittany when she was young, both cheerleaders, both popular at school. It was natural for Santana to take an interest.

So why had she freaked out when Will had leant over to talk to her?

She shook her head lightly to get rid of the thought. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong. It was all perfectly innocent, she was just tired and over thinking it. Everything was fine.

Having reassured herself she turned her attention back to the film, clenching her hand tightly in her lap and determined to focus on what the dull narrator was saying. But 10 minutes later, when the lights went up, although she didn't remember moving, she looked down to see her arm back resting lightly next to Brittany's, their forearms just touching and their pinky fingers half an inch apart.

She stood up, careful not to look at the cheerleader as she jerked her arm away.

"Right, ok everyone! Lunch, let's go have lunch"

Will laughed, slowly getting to his feet "Santana there's no rush"

But she didn't stop, stepping past him to get to the door

"No I know, but I'm hungry, so, you know, let's pick up the pace a little" She snapped her fingers at the students to make them hurry up, pointedly ignoring a pair of piercing blue eyes that stared at her questioningly.

"Come on people, let's go."

She pulled back the curtain and walked out into the hall, striding down the corridor towards the museum café without even a backwards look to see if anyone was following.

...

**Sorry it's kinda late. I've been super busy, I ended up staying at my friend's for the whole weekend and then I had to work all day monday and tuesday. This is the first chance I've had to put it up. So it's pretty long as a lil treat for y'all.**

**Apparently this story has had over 12,000 hits? You will never know how happy that has made me. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, I appreciate every story alert I get so really really thank you. **

**I'm not sure if I like this chapter but hopefully you do, feel free to tell me whatcha think. **

**:)**

**x **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was 3 hours later and the school bus was just pulling up outside McKinley high, a light dusting of snow starting to fall as the afternoon sky slowly turned to grey. The doors of the bus shuddered open and the icy wind rushed in, a collective shiver going round as gloves and scarves were hastily put back on in preparation to go outside.

"Ok, everybody off"

Will went first, standing beside the open doors and head counting the students as they filed past, trudging reluctantly up to the school for the last hour of lessons.

The glee kids were the last to get off, Blaine and Kurt hand in hand at the front, whilst Puck trailed the pack, shooting angry glances at Quinn, who walked arm in arm with a gloomy looking Brittany.

"See you all in Glee" Will called out to them as they tramped away, only Rachel turning back to give him a nod and a cheerful "Can't wait"

He smiled and looked at Emma who stood beside him

"At least Rachel's excited"

She giggled in agreement and wrapped her coat tightly around her small frame

"Shall we go in? It's freezing" She turned to look over her shoulder at the brunette who stood silently behind them "..Santana?"

"Yeah, let's go"

She threw a short "Thanks" to the bus driver and then began to walk quickly up to the school, careful not to slip on the ice as she went ahead without a backwards glance.

With a puzzled look at Emma, Will followed.

"Hey..Santana"

She slowed slightly, allowing him to catch up without actually stopping, a faint frown shadowing her face. When he drew level, he seemed concerned.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine Will, honestly. I'm just really cold"

He looked at her doubtfully and she forced a brief, unconvincing smile

"Will, seriously there is nothing wrong. I'm just cold. I've always hated this weather, ever since I was a kid. I'll be fine once I'm inside"

He seemed to believe her, his face relaxing as he threw a friendly arm over her shoulder, his gloved hand rubbing her sleeve to warm her up.

"It'll be nice and warm in the school" he assured her, keeping his arm looped around her as they walked, Emma close behind.

Once they reached the doors Santana smiled and thanked them for helping out, throwing a "See you later" behind her as she left them, anxious to get back to the classroom and be on her own. Once out of sight, her brow creased again in a frown as she hurried along and up the stairs, her mind having a silent debate whilst she walked.

She knew that she wasn't attracted to Brittany. It was ridiculous to even let the thought into her head. Of course she wasn't attracted to her, she was a teacher, and the girl was only 18. It would be completely inappropriate.

But she just felt so strange around her, so confused, and she didn't know how to explain it. She'd never had this feeling before. With everyone else she was always confident, assertive - domineering even, but something about the blonde cheerleader disarmed her, and she couldn't work out what it was.

Walking up the empty hallways, she tried to reason with herself. Yes, Brittany was very attractive, of course she was, anyone could see that. But she didn't have any romantic feelings towards the girl, did she? Of course not, she couldn't, she definitely didn't.

It was just that they kept being thrown together in awkward situations. Santana nodded to herself, tucking a dark strand of hair forcefully behind her ear. That was it. The coffee, the classroom, the cheerios jacket, the trip. They were all just coincidences, embarrassing coincidences that were the reason she felt so uncomfortable. It wasn't that she liked Brittany, she just hadn't wanted her to feel strange, to feel like there was something else going on. She just felt worried that the girl might read something into these random accidents and feel confused, she didn't want Brittany to misread the situation. There was no other reason. Of course there wasn't.

She relaxed slightly, once again safe in the knowledge of her innocence and went to open her classroom door. She was about to slide the key into the lock when she suddenly remembered with a soft sigh the cheerios jacket still folded neatly in the trunk of her car from that morning. She had meant to give it back when they got off the bus but she had been so eager to get away from the cheerleader that she had forgotten.

She briefly considered waiting till Brittany's Government lesson the next day, but quickly decided against it, the girl would probably need to wash it before her next Cheerio's practice and she didn't want to get her in trouble with Coach Sue. She also felt like she should really apologise to the girl for earlier, Brittany probably had no idea why she had reacted like that and she owed her some kind of explanation, however untrue it would be. So she slipped the keys back into her pocket and turned around, heading down the hallway and towards the staircase.

In the back of her mind she noticed light footsteps from around the corner behind her, but the sound didn't really register until it stopped abrubtly, the silence breaking into her thoughts. She heard a low whistle, and turned to face Sue Sylvester, standing in front of her, as though Santana's earlier thought had summoned her there at that moment.

She wore the usual tracksuit, red today, with bright white sports shoes and in one hand she carried a vibrantly coloured health drink, a smirk on her lips.

"Well look who it is...Carmelita Tropicana."

Santana stared "..I'm sorry?"

Sue took a small sip of her drink before continuing

"I was wondering when I'd run into you"

She was a tall woman and Santana had to look up to make eye contact, but she lifted her chin firmly, making it clear she wasn't intimidated.

"I haven't see you around much. Clearly you've been pretty busy chumming up with Schuester and his gang of talentless freaks...but you know who I am, don't you Conchita?"

Santana inclined her head in a slight nod, her body instinctively tensing a little as she regarded the other woman carefully.

"I thought so, most people do"

A small pause and another swig on her vitamin shake.

"And I'm aware of you of course. New government teacher...taking over from preggo Jackson."

She nodded towards Santana

"And I hear you're already causing quite a stir. There's been a lot of talk about you in the staffroom. Apparently you're kind of a big deal here at McKinley...That true Tex Mex?"

Santana frowned in irritation

"I don't know where you're going with this, but I'm just going to tell you now that I'm not mexican"

She paused before adding

"Or from Texas"

Sue took another gulp of her drink, dismissing Santana's comment with a uncaring shrug

"Well, South of Ohio, it's all the same to me"

Santana's previous indifference to the woman was quickly becoming dislike and her tone grew impatient. She had a feeling this was going to be about the students she had recruited from Sue's cheerleading team, and she wanted to get it over with.

"Did you have something to say Sue? I'm kind of busy"

Sue flashed her a smile, revealing 2 rows of perfectly straight white teeth

"Well yes actually, as a matter of fact I do...I have a proposition for you Salma"

Santana tilted her head "Salma?"

Sue nodded "Hayek"

"Of course...still not mexican, but carry on"

Sue leant in, so their eyes were level, her voice low as she stated simply

"You stole my cheerios"

Santana stared straight back at her, unflinching as the woman continued

"Now I let that go...mainly because I need that time to write poison pen letters to Emma Pillsbury, but also...because there's something I want from you. And if you agree to it, then we're even"

She raised her eyebrows at the brunette's confused expression

"You with me amigo?"

Santana narrowed her eyes

"What is it that you want Sue?"

The blonde woman straightened up so she once again towered over Santana, her tone instantly less threatening.

"You were a cheerleader at Ohio state. Co-Captain if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes" Santana answered slowly "But what does that have to do wi-"

Sue put up a hand to stop her

"Woah there Chimichanga..let me explain."

She took a thoughtful sip on her drink and continued

"I've been a cheerleading coach for a long time. I'm the best and I train the best. Now I've been to high schools all over Ohio, but I've never stayed anywhere as long as McKinley and do you know why?"

Santana felt completley disconcerted by where the conversation was going and replied truthfully

"No I don't, why?"

Sue gestured with her free hand to emphasise her point

"Because these kids, have what it takes. And I would rather rip out my own heart than tell them this, but they've got it, whatever it is, they've got it...I don't know if it's something they put in the water here but those Lima losers sure know how to cheer. They have the drive, the talent, they never question me, and most of the time, they actually want to be there. And they need a coach who can channel all that"

Santana looked at her blankly

"Right...how am I part of that?"

Sue looked at the shorter woman carefully, trying to be sure she was making the right decision before she answered her. After a few seconds, she seemed to decide to go ahead and she leant forward consiprationally.

"Well you probably wouldn't notice this because of my kick ass bone structure and thick, naturally blonde hair...but I'm getting older Consuela."

Santana rolled her eyes

"And I can't coach the cheerios forever, I've still got a good few years in me but, there's gonna come a time where I'm going to want to retire, not in the too distant future. And I'm going to need someone I can trust to hand my legacy to."

She nodded to Santana

"Now I don't know you very well, but I've heard good things. The way you dealt with Figgins, how you chucked that neanderthal Karofsky out of your class, the journey in the back of some guy's lorry you must have taken to break into this country...I'm impressed by all these things. And I think maybe you might just be the person I need. If I trained you up right, I think you might just be perfect"

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing

"You want _me_ to take over as coach when you retire?"

"You got it senora"

"You know I'm only here until Ms. Jackson gets back from maternity leave? Even if I wanted to do this, I'm leaving at the end of the school year"

Sue shook her head

"Just hold on a second muchacha, you can stay as my assisant. You'll be able to study at my feet until the time comes for you take over"

She shrugged and took a sip of her health shake

"There'll be some light laundry and cleaning as part of the job, but I imagine your people are more than used to that kind of work-"

Santana put her hands up to stop her. She had heard enough. This whole conversation was becoming crazy. Will had warned her about Sue but she hadn't expected anything like this, did she really want to be Santana's mentor? Was it a some kind of trick?

"Look, I don't want to be a cheerleading coach. I'm not interested, and even if I were, I still wouldn't do it, and not just because I suspect you might be horribley racist..but also because I've seen the way you treat your cheerleaders, and I don't like it. So thanks, but my answer is no. Really, really no"

She started to descend the stairs, not breaking step when she heard Sue's voice behind her.

"I would respond to that Chica, but I don't speak Spanish. It's the one language I never learned, out of principle. So I'm going to assume you said yes, and we can carry on this conversation later as you seem to have someplace else to be. I guess there is a lawn that needs mowing poorly, or some alcohol that needs drinking...so you just go ahead"

Santana ignored her, coming to the bottom of the staircase and walking briskly down the hall and out into the car park. She dipped her hand into her pocket, pulling out her keys as she reached her car, shivering slightly against the wind.

Jesus, that woman was awful.

She replayed their conversation in her head, and couldn't stop a small smile spreading on her lips when she remembered some of the names Sue had called her. With a grudging acceptance, she had to admit, the woman was remarkably witty.

And she seemed to know an impressive amount of mexican stereotypes. Santana laughed to herself, she couldn't wait to tell Will what had happened.

She opened the boot and leant in to grab the jacket, grimacing slightly when her fingers clasped the cold, wet material. The ice covering it had melted by now, leaving the cotton heavy with moisture, a layer of dirt still clinging to the sodden fibres. When she picked it up to shake it out, a small patch of damp was left underneath it, staining the bottom of her trunk.

Brittany definitely couldn't wear it home, Santana thought, attempting to wring it out onto the ground. She'd be freezing, she might get the flu or something. She would just have to let her borrow her Ohio state jumper for the night, which she was wearing already, so it wouldn't make much difference if she kept it for a bit longer.

Santana didn't want her to get ill, and the girl could just give it back in their lesson the next day. It's not like Santana needed the jumper for anything, and Brittany couldn't go home in just her tiny cheerleading outfit, it was far too cold. It was fine, she'd just let her hold onto the jumper, it was a good idea. It wasn't weird Santana assured herself, it was the kind of thing Will would do, it was responsible.

She locked the car and checked her watch, only 10 minutes until school finished. She was pretty sure that Glee club was on tonight, so Brittany would be staying around, and she knew that Will and Emma would almost certainly be in the teachers lounge right that minute, having already cleared their schedules the week before in anticipation of a longer trip. So she could just go and give him the jacket now, ask him to give it to Brittany when he saw her at Glee.

Or, she could not.

As she slipped back in through the double doors, into the welcoming warmth of the hallways, she debated handing the jacket straight to Will to pass on, or waiting until Glee club had already started and delivering it herself. She really did want to apologise to the girl in person. Brittany was one of her favourite students. and she didn't want her thinking she was angry with her, she wanted to make sure things were ok between them. That was the only reason.

In the back of her mind she knew that it made more sense to just give the jacket to Will straight away. Then she could go back to the classroom, collect her things and go home with a bottle of wine and a stack of essays to grade. But even as she firmly decided that she would go straight to find Will, she looked up to realise she was already standing outside her classroom door. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had walked straight past the teachers lounge, up the stairs and all the way back to where she had started from.

She looked down at the dripping coat in her hand and paused for a moment, before shrugging and unlocking her classroom door. She would just drop by Glee club on her way home, it was no big deal. She switched on the lights, chucking Brittany's jacket onto her desk and going over to the closet to get her things. She transferred her phone and keys from her coat back into the leather handbag that hung from the door and stuck her hand into the zippered pocket to pull out her phone.

3 missed calls. She pressed the green phone button, and sighed heavily as the inevitable name flashed on her screen.

_Taylor_

"Big fucking surprise" she muttered to herself, chucking the blackberry back into her bag and loading a folder of 11th grade essays in after it.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and went to grab Brittany's jacket, just as she heard a light knock on her door.

Thinking it was Sue coming back to try and persuade her, she swung the door open, her eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

"Sue, will you just fu-" She stopped short as she saw Brittany standing there looking a little scared, Santana's Ohio state jumper folded neatly in her arms.

"Oh!..Brittany...God, I'm sorry I thought you were someone else"

"..Coach Sue?" The blonde asked nervously

"Uh, well..yes actually" Santana said with an embarrassed smile "But, yes,..sorry about that...um, did you want to come in?"

She stepped aside so the girl could get past and Brittany regarded her closely, her mood seeming to have undergone a drastic change since they last saw each other.

"Uh, ok"

Brittany stepped into the classroom, a little warily, and stretched her arm towards Santana.

"I just came to give you your jumper back...it was really nice of you to let me borrow it, so thanks"

Santana pushed it gently back towards her

"Oh no, you should keep it for tonight, it's fine, you'll need it..I mean, because your jacket isn't dry yet, I was just coming down to Glee to bring it to you, but it's still wet so you can't really wear it, well you could but you'd be freezing, so you really shouldn't..."

She was rambling, so she turned to grab the coat from her desk, holding it up so Brittany could feel how wet it still was.

"You can't wear it like this..but you're welcome to hold onto the jumper for a little longer, I dont mind"

Brittany smiled, but it was perfunctory, she still looked uncomfortable. She unfolded the jumper and slid it hesitantly back over her head before picking up her own jacket.

"Thanks, I'll bring it back tomorrow...if you really don't mind"

"I don't...I don't mind at all"

Santana looked away, catching her lower lip between her teeth as the awkwardness became almost tangible. She was unable to lift her gaze from her hands as she apologised.

"Listen...Brittany...I'm sorry I was weird earlier, you know on the trip...it was nothing to do with you...Will, uh, I mean Mr Schuester told me something and it kind of threw me, it's all ok now but I was just a little shocked, and I am sorry because it must have looked like I was angry at you..."

She forced herself to look up, Brittany's face was unreadable

"but obviously I wasn't angry at you.. you didn't do anything...so..I'm sorry, I hope I didn't upset you"

She swallowed, feeling stupidly anxious as she waited for the blonde's response, her tense brown eyes flicking from the girl's face back to her hands, unable to stand the intensity of the cheerleader's stare.

Opposite her, Brittany felt a huge wave of relief wash away the stress that had been clutching at her all day. She had been so worried, paranoid that Santana didn't like her any more, that she had somehow worked out Brittany's feelings for her and turned away in disgust.

It was only that morning that the cheerleader had really seemed to work out what it was that she felt towards her teacher and Santana's behaviour during the film had scared her. The way she had snatched her arm away as though it were on fire, it had replayed in Brittany's head over and over again, making her cringe in embarrassment to think she had been the cause.

From the moment the woman had suggested they share the arm rest, the wild flutter in her heart had made her realise just how much she liked the teacher, more than she had ever really liked anyone before. And as she had edged her arm closer, the butterflys dancing in her stomach as her little finger rested impossibly close to Santana's, she had felt a faint blush spread on her cheeks as she realised she was more excited just sitting there than she had been the week before, when she made out with Artie at Puck's party. Or that time she made out with Finn at Kurt's party. Or any of those other times with people before that.

And then, as though she could read Brittany's mind, Santana had yanked her arm away, striding out of the projection room and avoiding contact with her for the rest of the trip. And Brittany had stressed all day, unwilling to face the woman again, but anxious to return the jumper so she wouldn't think she'd had stolen it in a kind of stalker, obsessed way.

And now Santana was apologising, as though it was her who had done something wrong and Brittany couldn't help the huge smile spread across her face.

"Don't worry Ms. Lopez, it's fine. I'm just glad there isn't anything wrong"

"No..of course not, everything's fine"

Santana felt happy for the first time that afternoon as they smiled at each other, all awkwardness forgotten. She was just so relieved that Brittany wasn't asking any questions. She didn't really have an explanation, and she would much rather just fall back into their easy, friendly relationship than discuss the reasons for her freaking out at the museum. The apology had gone well, a lot more smoothly than she had imagined, and she had to remind herself that of course it went well, because there was nothing going on, it was fine. She was just a teacher, saying sorry to her student for being a little moody. That was completely normal she thought, staring into the deep, blue eyes that gazed back at her.

After a few seconds Brittany reluctantly broke the silence

"I guess I should probably go to Glee now.."

"Oh, right, of course"

Santana rushed to get the door for Brittany, who left slowly, pulling the jumper sleeves over her hands and folding them over her chest

"I'll bring this back for your lesson tomorrow"

"Ok,...I hope you have fun in Glee"

They were talking quietly now, Santana fiddling with the door handle as she said goodbye

"Thanks..see you tomorrow Ms. lopez"

"See you tomorrow Brittany"

Brittany unwillingly turned and started down the hallway, the hem of her cheerios skirt riding up slightly to expose creamy, toned thighs covered only in thin, sheer tights as she walked hurriedly to Glee.

Santana breathed out, stepping back into her classroom and gathering her things up. She cleaned the board and cast her eyes over the room, checking it was tidy for tomorrow. Then she shut off the lights, locked the door behind her as she left and headed back down the hallway, pulling her phone out of her bag as she walked.

She reached the car park just as the line she was ringing picked up with a soft click

"Hello?"

"Hey Taylor, it's me"

"...Santana?"

"Yeah...listen, do you want to meet up tonight?"

There was a brief pause

"Really?.."

"Yeah really, you can come over to my apartment. I'll make dinner, we can have a few bottles of wine, you can stay over...it'll be nice"

"Uh, wow, I'd love to. I'll definitely be there. What time do you want me?"

"Come over around 8.00"

"Great, I'll see you then"

"Yeah, see you later"

Santana hung up, putting the phone into her pocket and climbing into her car, placing her forehead on the steering wheel with her eyes closed.

What was she doing? This was so stupid, she'd completely regret this in the morning, it was so irresponsible, but she couldn't help herself. She was so angry for ringing, after she promised herself she would stop doing it, but it had almost been a sub conscious thing. She hadn't even been thinking about Taylor when she picked up the phone.

She breathed deeply, pushing her hair out of her face and trying not to think about how much of an idiot she was being.

This would make things even harder to deal with now.

"Stupid, stupid, fucking, idiot" She muttered to herself as she sat up in her chair and started the car. There was nothing she could do now, she'd invited her, the decision had been made.

So she drove home, back to her apartment, towards her booty call with a woman she could barely force a conversation with and tried to clear her mind. At least she would have a little fun that evening she thought unenthusiastically, and she tried to focus on having a good time with Taylor, desperately trying to ignore the panic that rose in her chest, when the image of smooth pale skin under a tight red cheerleading skirt proved impossible to shake from her head.

**...**

**I hope this is showing up now? Apparently it wasn't loading last night? I re uploaded it but I don't really know if that's made a difference. Can anyone see it?**

**I've had quite a few reviews saying there aren't enough Brittana moments soooo, because I love anyone who takes the time to review, I promise the next chapter is going to be loco caliente Brittana. There will be practically no one else in the chapter. And it will probably be up soon-ish, definitely before next weekend so you don't even have to wait that long for it.**

**Again, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who reads this, especially to those who review and add this story to chapter alert, it's really flattering so thanks :)**

**I hope you like this chapter, I feel like it's getting more difficult to write but hopefully that wont show in the writing. **

**It's 3.20am now so I'ma go to bed. **

**Thank you, I love you all, Goodnight.**

**x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"...and that is why, even if she did ever run for the nomination, Sarah Palin will never be the president of the United States"

She paused, with a smile around her 11th grade class

"And thank God for that..."

The students laughed as the bell rang overhead, signalling the end of the school day

"Ok, I want you all to have a look at chapter 4 in your handbooks before next lesson. We will be doing one of the essay questions in class, so make sure you read the whole chapter properly, and maybe plan a few of the questions out so you're prepared"

She went over to the door and held it open as the students packed their things and began to leave.

"Apart from that, everyone have a good weekend and I'll see you all monday"

They filed past her smiling, thanking her for the lesson and wishing her a nice weekend, each student secretly hoping for some kind of individual attention from their new favourite teacher. With the arrival of Santana, Government classes had suddenly become a whole lot more popular. Kids in the hallways were actually talking about how good their politics lessons were, despite it previously being the most hated subject next to maths.

With the exception of Karofsky and Azimio, Santana's students were attentive and hard working, hanging off her every word, laughing at all her jokes. And for the first time in its history, the debate club actually had a waiting list, students were clamouring to give up one lunchtime a week, just to be in the same room as the most talked about teacher at McKinley.

And although Santana was aware that the interest in her classes didn't have all that much to do with a sudden passion for democracy, she was just pleased that the kids were getting more involved. Whatever the reason, she was happy to be responsible for the unexpected rise in Government student attendance and the A grade papers that went with it.

So she was friendly and gracious as she said goodbye to the class, closing the door with a smile when the last student had finished fawning over her. She collected up the textbooks from the tables and piled them onto a shelf at the back, shivering slightly as she walked back to her desk.

She had a stack of finished assignments on affirmative action from her seniors to mark and she sat down, starting straight away so she could finish quickly and go home.

She read through them critically, immediately failing Karofsky and Azimio, whose joint project consisted only of a printed out picture of Barack Obama, with the word 'comunist' inked crudely across his forehead. She did however give them 2 points, as opposed to the usual 0, due to their ability to not only recognise the president of the USA, but also for almost spelling 'communist' correctly. She used her biro to write out the right spelling underneath, laughing quietly as she added a small note at the bottom 'Another brave attempt boys, you keep up such great work and you might just be on Fox News one day - Good Job'.

Feeling another slight shiver, she reached behind her to pull her jacket off the chair, draping it around her shoulders as she continued to read.

Next was Puck and Quinn's piece, a surprisingly good essay on the pros and cons of the system, starting with the history of the civil rights movement and even mentioning relevant supreme court cases to emphasise their points. She gave them a high pass and wrote out an enthusiastic 'well done' on a sticky note which she pasted over the front sheet.

After skimming over pieces from the rest of the class, all better than she expected them to be, her eyes fell on a submission resting at the bottom of the pile. It was an A3 poster, detailed with careful illustrations and bits of paper stuck down that unfolded to reveal blocks of well researched information, neatly written out on brightly coloured paper. Santana smiled, not needing to look at the name on the back to know it belonged to Brittany, and peeled off another sticky note.

'This is amazing Brittany, well done' She wrote, sticking it down firmly at the top of the poster, hesitating before uncapping her pen again and adding a small smiley face in the corner. The cheerleader's work was consistently brilliant, but this piece was her best, and Santana made a mental note to ask the girl if she could put it on display with the other posters on the back wall.

Finally finished, she tidied the work away and got up, noting again just how cold her classroom felt. She walked over to the radiators and pressed her hand to the metal, frowning when she realised they weren't even vaguely warm. She checked her watch, it was only 4.40pm, the heaters didn't usually get turned off this early. There were still after school clubs going at this time, and lots of teachers tended to stay behind for a few hours after the bell to catch up on marking, so they wouldn't automatically go off. Most nights the radiators stayed on until the caretaker left to go home, around 6.00pm, so they should definitely still have been running.

Santana went over to the window to pull up the blinds that had been down for most of the day. She had been using the projector in her lessons and she had shut all of them earlier, blocking any natural light from casting a glare on the screen and simply forgetting to lift them once she had finished. She opened them now and grimaced when she saw the snow falling in earnest outside, the football field already invisible under an ivory blanket.

She had known there was a bit of snow earlier as the kids had come in red faced and shivering to her lessons, excitedly planning snowball fights after school. But she hadn't expected it to be so heavy. When she had gone down to the teachers lounge at break time she had only seen a thin layer of ice on the ground, light, fluttery snow falling, but melting as soon as it landed. The sky had been a dark, gloomy grey but she hadn't payed much attention, the weather had been awful all week so it didn't feel like anything to worry about.

But now she wondered if she had been stupid leaving late. The only exit out of the school car park, was a small, sharp slope, which had been almost too icy to drive down that morning. It would be even worse now. And although the caretaker had been gritting the car park every day for the past month, the snow had built up so quickly in the last few hours that Santana doubted he would have had time to manage it this afternoon.

She turned from the window, grabbing her bag and coat and walking quickly out of the room and down the hall, trying to remember the last time she got her tires changed. She wasn't sure, but she knew it hadn't been in the last 2 years. Definitely not recent enough to attempt driving out if the ground was really slippery.

As she hurried down the stairs and towards the double doors, she threw her coat on and pulled her scarf out of her bag, praying that she wouldn't be stranded at the school overnight.

"Santana?"

She span round to see Will, wearing a black overcoat and hat, coming towards her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked "I thought everyone had gone"

"I was just finishing up some work in my classroom. And then I opened my blinds" She gestured outside "And I saw the snow. So I thought I better leave before it gets worse."

"You only just saw the snow?...It's been like this for at least an hour"

"Well what are you still doing here?"

"I had to stay behind to watch some of the Glee kids run through a number for sectionals, and then when the snow got really bad I tried to leave, but my piece of crap car couldn't get up the slope in the car park"

"Does that mean I wont be able to get out either?"

He pulled a face

"Probably not, most of the teachers left as soon as school was over but it's practically impossible to get out of the car park now"

"What? Are you kidding? I have to get home. Is there no way I can get out of there?"

He shook his head apologetically

"Not really, not right now anyway, the driveway is like a sheet of ice. And the buses don't run this way after 4.00 in the winter"

She sighed in frustration

"Well what am I supposed to do Will? I can't stay here all night."

"Look, don't worry, it shouldn't take more than a few hours to clear. It probably wont take us that long to put the grit down, it's just the snow that keeps falling on top that's the problem"

"Right...well...I could help, if you need me to?" She offered halfheartedly, not really wanting to but feeling like she should at least offer

But Will shook his head, glancing down at her 4 inch heels

"No, it's fine."

She tutted impatiently and pointed at her feet

"I'm hardly going to do it in these, Will. I have a pair of hunters in the car"

He smiled, but continued to refuse her help

"No, seriously it's fine. I'm sure you could do it, but 2 people is enough. And I know how much you hate the cold."

She gave in, glad that she wouldn't have to stand out in the snow, pouring salt on the ground.

"Ok, well I think I'll go and wait in my car. My classroom is freezing"

He nodded

"Yeah, the heaters have broken so that's probably a good idea"

He stopped and looked back towards his choir room

"Hey, do you mind taking Brittany with you?"

"Huh?" She asked. Was Brittany here? She thought all the students had gone home.

"She was one of the Glee kids who stayed behind to run through the dance, you know for sectionals, and now, obviously she can't leave. All the other kids left pretty quickly but she wanted to stay to get it right. She said her parents are at work, so I was going to give her a lift when we can get up the driveway"

He jerked his thumb to the hallway behind him

"But I don't really want to leave her in there, it's getting pretty cold and she's probably bored. So...would you mind if she sat with you till we get out?"

Santana stopped for a second, her mouth opening slightly as she considered what a bad idea that was, before nodding her head, trying to keep her tone light as she answered him.

"Yeah that's fine. I don't mind"

"Great. Thanks Santana. I'll just get her" he said, walking back towards the choir room and reappearing a minute later with the cheerleader.

Santana smiled

"Hi Brittany"

The blonde walked over to her happily

"Hey"

"Ok, let's go" said Will, walking over to the doors and holding them open politely

"Ladies first.."

Santana's car was parked at the back of the school and they trudged around the building, bracing themselves against the icy wind that blew drifts of snow into their faces. Will headed in the opposite direction, towards the exit, where the caretaker had already begun shovelling snow and piling it at the side of the road. He waved at them as he walked up to join the man and they continued round the side of the English block until they reached Santana's car.

She reached into her pocket for her keys, her frozen fingers fumbling with the button, but after a second, the headlights flashed and the car was unlocked.

They climbed in, momentarily silent as they both tried to think of something to say.

Santana spoke first.

"Jesus Christ...it's not even warmer in here"

Brittany smiled and Santana tried to think of something to follow that up with, when a thought struck her and she turned her head, looking over her shoulder

"Actually..I think I might have something in the back"

She climbed over the seat, careful not to kick Brittany and reached over into the trunk, finding a woollen blanket and dragging it back to the front.

As she clambered back into the drivers seat her tight skirt rode up slightly and Brittany tried not to stare, failing miserably as her eyes were drawn immediately to the black sheer stockings that ended halfway up Santana's thigh.

"Got it"

The older woman sat back down, throwing the blanket over both of their knees and leaning forward to put the car's heating on the highest setting.

"Ok, it should get a bit warmer soon. I just hope we aren't stuck in here for very long" She lied, turning to Brittany with a companionable smile and trying to think of a good conversation starter.

They began with the obvious, Santana asking Brittany how she was finding the Government class, how she was enjoying her senior year, where she wanted to go to college etc, but soon the conversation became more natural and Santana was surprised at how easy it was to chat freely to the younger girl. After talking a little about Brittany's cheerio's competition coming up and Coach Sue's rigorous work out schedule leading up to it, Santana found herself recounting to the blonde some of the meeting she'd had in the hallway with the woman the week before.

The car was now comfortabley warm and they both sat cross legged on their seats, facing each other, with their backs resting against the doors and the blanket spread between them. They were both laughing as Santana described what had happened.

"Her best one had to be..'Carmelita Tropicana'?...I don't even know what it means."

She paused, enjoying the sound of Brittany's laughter

"And then..when she called me 'Tex Mex'?"

"Are you even mexican?"

Another burst of laughter from the cheerleader as Santana shook her head, giggling helplessly, both of them surprised at how much they were enjoying themselves.

"No, not Mexican...I'm half Puerto Rican, with a little bit of African and German thrown in as well"

"Wow" Brittany seemed interested "I'm German too...well a quarter German anyway"

Santana nodded "I thought you might be"

Brittany smiled, feeling stupid when her stomach fluttered lightly. Ms. Lopez had been thinking about her? She looked down at her hands and carefully studied her nails.

"So, um, are you married or anything Ms. Lopez?"

Santana regarded the girl across from her closely. They both knew it was probably an inappropriate question, but sitting tucked up under a shared blanket, laughing and chatting together, it felt more like a conversation between friends than between a teacher and her student. So Santana kept her tone casual, answering honestly

"Nope, not married...and we're out of school, so you can call me Santana"

Brittany grinned and agreed shyly before continuing

"Do you have kids...Santana?"

"No, not yet"

Brittany looked up. She knew she was probably going too far, but Santana wasn't trying to change the subject, so she carried on.

"Do you want kids?"

Santana thought about it, realising that she had never really made a decision one way or the other but surprising herself when she still felt sure of her answer.

"I think I do...but definitley not yet. I'm only 26, and I think I'd probably want to wait, until I was about 30"

Brittany nodded, looking down again as she continued, a light blush spreading on her cheeks as she asked,

"Does your boyfriend want to have kids?"

A brief pause as Santana smiled to herself

"I don't have a boyfriend Brittany"

They both sat for a second, listening to the wind whistling outside, before Brittany spoke again.

"Do you think you're going to go out with that guy from the museum?"

Santana laughed, surprised Brittany had even noticed the museum guy flirting with her

"No, I am most definitley not going to go out with him"

"Because he was kinda creepy?"

"Well Yeah, among other things"

"What other things?"

There was a silence as Santana smiled, unsure of how to reply. She had a feeling that Brittany was circling around a specific question that she felt uncomfortable asking, a question that Santana knew, she would feel equally uncomfortable answering, and so they were both hovering just over it, both too scared to be direct but unable to move on.

In a way, Santana was hoping she would just come right out and ask. Then she could answer honestly and they could move on from this awkward conversation. But would it make things more awkward she suddenly wondered? How would Brittany react? She felt her stomach clench as she imagined the cheerleader looking at her with disgust, scrambling out of the car to get herself away from the teacher she had once thought was normal. Santana desperately didn't want that to happen.

"He just wasn't my type" she said finally with a sigh

Brittany breathed in slowly, her heart hammering against her chest as she asked quietly

"What is your type?"

"Umm...well, funny I guess...sweet...confident..." She tailed off with a shrug "I don't know really, it's hard to say"

"What about looks...what would they look like?"

Santana swallowed nervously and looked out of the window

"God Brittany I don't know"

"Well, what do you prefer" asked Brittany simply "blonde hair or dark hair?"

"Uh..blonde I guess"

"Ok, tall or short?"

"Tall"

"Blue eyes or brown eyes?"

"..Blue"

Santana blushed when she realised she was basically describing the girl in front of her.

"Man or woman?"

"What?"

Santana snapped her head towards Brittany, her mouth dropping open. She couldn't believe the girl had just come right out with it.

Brittany considered backtracking but realised it was pointless, so she looked straight back at her teacher, shocked at her own boldness, and asked again.

"I just wondered...Man or woman?"

Santana floundered for a reply, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Should she deny it? Brittany didn't really seem freaked out by the idea. But should she really be discussing her sexual preference with an 18 year old student? She was pretty sure she knew the answer to that.

So she closed her mouth, took a deep breath and turned to the blonde, about to tell her that it was an inappropriate question that she wasn't going to answer, when the hot air blowing into the car was suddenly cut off with a loud metallic clang.

Santana turned to her dashboard, distracted as she looked for the source of the noise, quickly realising it was the heater. She tried to adjust the dials, frowning when the hot air didn't reappear.

"Is it broken?"

She turned to Brittany, their previous conversation forgotten for the time being.

"I don't know, it's never done this before"

She reached under to find the control switch, flicking it back and forth, letting out a noise of frustration when it made no difference. The car was rapidly cooling now and she pulled the blanket around her waist to stay warm.

In a last ditch attempt she got out her keys and started the engine, hoping that would kick start the heater back on. When it did nothing to help she threw her keys back in her bag, banging the steering wheel with the palm of her hand.

"Fuck"

She paused, looking guiltily at Brittany "...Sorry"

The blonde smiled "It's ok. And look, I'm sure the driveway will be clear really soon. We'll be ok"

"I don't know long that's going to take Brittany, and it's about to get really fucking cold in here"

She apologised for swearing again, but they both knew it was something she couldn't help.

"And I don't have any more blankets or anything"

Santana looked out of the window, the sky was getting darker but the snow continued to swirl around them. She cupped her hands to her mouth, blowing on her fingers.

"We don't even have gloves"

"Here.."

She turned to the cheerleader who was reaching towards her, gesturing for the brunette to do the same.

With a feeling of trepidation that she tried to ignore, Santana obliged, leaning forward to place her hands inside Brittany's and smiling when the blonde cupped them gently. Her hands were soft and warm, lightly rubbing Santana's to stop the cold.

"Better?..I have really warm hands"

Santana nodded, shifting closer so she could sit comfortably and blushing when her knee came into contact with Brittany's leg under the blanket. She murmured a quick 'Sorry' and sat still as Brittany also edged a little closer.

They were now only 30cm apart, both sitting on the very edge of their seats with only the handbrake between them.

"How long have we been in here?"

Santana twisted her wrist inside Brittany's hands to look at her watch

"About an hour and a half" She lifted her eyes to the blonde "Will your parents be worried?"

Brittany shook her head

"I told them I was staying late for Glee, and I usually go to Quinn's house for a few hours after anyway."

"Oh ok"

A brief pause as Brittany debated whether or not to ask her next question.

"Have you got anyone waiting for you?"

Santana cleared her throat. Great, they were back to this.

"Uh, no..no, there's no one waiting for me at home."

She tried to lighten the intensity of the conversation

"Unless the museum guy got hold of my address"

It was a weak joke but Brittany laughed anyway and Santana took the opportunity to change the subject.

"So, have you got any plans for this summer?"

Brittany had stopped rubbing Santana's fingers to warm them up now, and as the brunette looked down she realised they were essentially just holding hands. But she couldn't force herself to let go. She was cold, she reasoned, Brittany was just being helpful. There wasn't anything romantic about it.

Brittany shrugged "Not really. I might go down to Florida with some of the others from Glee, but I haven't really decided yet. You?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I'll probably be busy looking for another job"

Brittany was about to ask her if she would get another job as a substitute teacher when, through the window behind Santana, she saw Will approaching them with a shovel dangling over one shoulder.

"Mr Schuester"

"Huh?"

Brittany nodded to the window and Santana whipped round, dropping the cheerleader's hand immediately. They both pushed themselves back into the centre of their seats and shook the blanket from their legs, letting it pool on the floor at their feet.

Although they hadn't technically done anything wrong, they exchanged guilty looks as Will got closer and rapped sharply on the window.

Santana pressed the button to let the glass slide down and gave him a weak smile.

"All done?"

"Yeah..finally. Sorry it took awhile, were you two alright in here?"

Santana couldn't answer fast enough

"Yep fine, we were fine"

He poked his head in a little further so his curls brushed the ceiling

"It doesn't feel very warm in here"

"Yeah, the heater broke"

"Damn, you must of been cold"

Santana's cheeks went pink

"We were ok"

He nodded

"Good, well, we used up nearly all the grit so the driveway should be fine now. Come on Brittany, I'll take you home"

"I could..drive her home?" Santana offered "I mean, if it's easier"

"It's alright, Brittany only lives about 5 minutes from my place" Will answered, not noticing the cheerleader's crestfallen expression.

Santana kept her tone light "Oh, ok"

She turned the blonde who was getting out of the car, giving her a shy smile

"See you Brittany"

"Bye Ms. Lopez...thanks for letting me wait in your car"

"It's fine...I enjoyed our chat"

Brittany's heart gave a tiny clench

"Me too"

Will straightened up and went round to meet Brittany, taking her arm so she wouldn't slip in the snow.

"See you Santana, thanks again" he called

"Drive safe Will"

He nodded, giving her a wave as they started towards his car, Brittany glancing back briefly to shoot her one last smile before they disappeared into the snowy evening.

Santana leant back against her chair and ran a hand through her long black hair, hardly believing the last 2 hours to have been real. And as she reached into her bag to retrieve the keys she had carelessly thrown in earlier, she wondered with a heavy sigh if her meetings with Brittany would ever end with anything other than her watching the girl walk away, disappointment heavy in her chest.

**...**

**As I think I have made evident in this chapter, I know nothing about the procedures of getting snowed in at school. I do know this whole situation was wildly unrealistic but let's be honest, so is Glee, so I'm not too worried.**

**I hope you liked the chapter, was it enough Brittana for you? I will start moving their relationship on a bit faster soon but I don't want to rush it, so bear with me.**

**Also, I apologise for using the word 'Jumper' so consistently throughout the last chapter, I've been told that the American word is 'Sweater' so I'll try and remember that. **

****Thank you so much for reviewing, I really really appreciate it, seriously I do.****

****Got this chapter up early, so you can probably expect the next one at the end of the week. ****

****x****


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"- sorry, I'm really late I know, I'm sorry"

Santana swept into the classroom, her sleek, straightened ponytail swinging behind her as she greeted the class with an apologetic smile. It was the last lesson of term and she had promised something fun before the Christmas break, a quiz or a video or something as they were already so far ahead of their work schedule and the class sat patiently waiting, the chatter dying away as she entered.

"Ok, I'm here now, we can get started..."

Her eyes flicked to the vintage Sekonda on her wrist and she noted that Will had made her 10 minutes late, although, unusually for her she couldn't summon even the slightest irritation. Instead she felt a small smile as she thought of their conversation, a happiness that she hadn't felt for months spreading through her.

She had been unwilling to stop at first when he had cornered her after break, with something so important it apparently just couldn't wait until lunch, but had allowed him to explain, warning him with impatient eyes to be quick.

"So...as you know" He began with a smile "The New Directions won their round at sectionals"

"...Uh..Yeah"

"Well it made me think, it's great that we've come this far...but we're going to need something really special to place at nationals"

She nodded briskly, encouraging him to speak faster "Ok"

"And I think the kids are up to it...but they are going to have to work really hard"

She stared at him with a faint frown "Is there a point to this story Will?"

He smiled, by now used to her impatience

"Yes, I'm just getting there...so yeah something good for nationals, Ok...so I have some ideas, some pretty good ones, but I need help..."

He took a breath and looked at her anxiously

"I'm just going to say it...I need a co-director"

Santana raised her eyebrows, her reply out of her mouth before he had even finished his sentence

"Ask Emma"

She had already started walking back down the hallway when he reached out, grabbing her arm and spinning her back to face him

"I would ask her but..well..I think the kids find her difficult to relate to, and she doesn't really dance or sing, which would make it easier...but you...they love you...you know a lot of them already and I just know they would work hard with you, I think you'll be a really good influence for them"

"I don't sing"

Will pulled a face

"Santana...come on.."

"What? I don't" She lied, trying to ignore the impulse telling her to say yes

"Maybe not loudly, but I've heard you sing along to the radio in the teacher's lounge...and that time you did karoeke at the Firehouse...it's pretty obvious you can carry a tune"

She didn't reply, faintly embarrassed he remembered her drunken rendition of The BeeGees 'Emotions' from a night out last month, so he spoke again

"Santana please...for a lot of them this is their last chance to win nationals, I need all the help I can get and I think they'd really love it if you joined us...please just think about it"

She had sighed, excuses as to why she couldn't do it filling her head, but the overwhelming feeling of flattery and intrigue knocking down the objections her logic raised.

She didn't have time?

Well after Christmas there would be a lot less essays to mark, and she could always move debate club to earlier in the week.

She hadn't sung or danced properly since she was in college?

That wouldn't matter, she was good, really good and it would come back to her soon enough once she started up again.

Brittany?

Santana swallowed. That one was a little harder to reason away.

But it didn't mean she shouldn't do it. She wanted to do it. She didn't really know why, but the whole thing seemed kind of fun and everyone had been so happy when the Glee kids had done well at regionals. She wanted to be part of that. She looked at Will, his brown eyes pleading silently with her and found herself nodding uncertainly, a reluctant smile on her lips.

"Ok...yeah...I'll give it a try, but if it doesn't work out then I think you should just ask Emma..and I'm late so we'll have to talk about this later"

He beamed, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her in a quick hug.

"Thank you so much. We're going to have so much fun" he promised, turning away with a double thumbs up as Santana carried on up the hallway, surprised at how much she was now looking forward to coming back to work after the holiday break.

She reached her lesson and opened the classroom door, her hazel eyes immediately searching out bright blue. She had a sudden impulse to tell Brittany about her conversation with Will and almost found herself walking over to the girl's desk, before she realised what she was doing and quickly moved towards the board instead, her cheeks reddening slightly.

She chucked her bag under the desk and faced the students.

"Ok, last lesson of term...I promised something fun so it's up to you what we do today"

She walked round to sit on the edge of her desk, ignoring Rachel's hand which shot up immediately.

"We could play a game, we could do a quiz. I have all seven seasons of West Wing in the cupboard so you could watch that if you like.."

The girl's hand began to flutter in her eyeline, trying to get her attention and Santana turned her head deliberately to the other side of the class.

"I have some work to hand out so I could put it on in the background whilst we get that out of the way..."

Rachel's small frame was lifted slightly off her chair now, the extra height pushing her arm higher. She stared resolutely at Santana, not blinking as she tryed to catch her eye.

"And then I just need five minutes at the end of the lesson to give you a really short piece of research homework for over Christmas.."

The brunette quietly cleared her throat, her arm still held rigidly above her, desperate to speak and Santana gave in.

"Yes Rachel? Do you have something to add?"

The girl nodded at her teacher, ignoring the sharp tone and sat back in her chair, satisfied.

"I do Ms. Lopez." She smoothed her skirt over her knees and leant forward "I have been thinking about what we could do to mark the end of your first term here at McKinley, and I thought it might be fun..."

A dramatic pause

"To have a debate.."

The class groaned collectively as she carried on

"..You would participate, on the subject of your choosing...perhaps the Republican race for presidential nominee, or Obama's presidency..or maybe even something a little more controversial, abortion perhaps, or gay marriage"

Santana swallowed as Rachel leaned further over her desk and added delightedly

"We could both be team captains"

When the teacher didn't immediately respond, Puck took it upon himself to say what they were all thinking, earning a hurt frown from Rachel

"Berry that sucks, we aren't doing that"

The class agreed with him and Rachel's idea was quickly shouted down, the vote seeming to be in favour of watching a DVD. Santana knew they wouldn't pay attention to it, only using it as an excuse to get away with doing nothing for an hour, but frankly she would rather do almost anything than organise a debate which she would then have to argue against Rachel in.

So she obliged her students, putting the first episode of 'The West Wing' on the TV she'd had to wheel out from the cupboard and allowing to chat amongst themselves as she gave out bits of work.

As she passed the brunette she shot her a sympathetic smile

"Sorry Rachel...you're idea sounded really..fun. Maybe next time yeah?"

The petite singer nodded, a little downtrodden but fairly used to unenthusiastic responses to most things she suggested.

Santana went back to handing out the short essay questions they had done last week and she walked back to the board, congratulating Brittany on her way past for the highest mark in the class.

At the back of the room Dave Karofsky's face screwed up in annoyance.

"What!...How did the retard get a higher score than me? Can she even write her own name?"

Santana whipped round, her eyes dark with rage as she saw Brittany's face crumple in humiliation.

"Get out"

He tried to protest but she was next to him in an instant, her hand on his collar, yanking him forefully out of his chair.

"Get the fuck out of my classroom before I lose my job for killing you"

There was a small gasp around the other students at her words, but her anger was so consuming that she could only focus on the boy in front of her. Despite the significant height difference, she didn't seem to have any difficulty dragging him out of the room and pushing him roughly into the hallway.

"Go to Figgins right now. Tell him I swore at you, tell him I threw you out, tell him what you want - I don't care."

She had to clench her hands into tight fists by her side to stop herself from hitting him.

"Just make sure he knows that he better find a new class for you by next term, because I will not put up with your crap any longer Dave, I'm fucking sick of it...now just get the hell out of my sight"

She waited for him to leave, shock rendering him incapable of a reply, before turning on her heel and walking back into the classroom, the door slamming shut behind her.

...

"Brittany.."

The blonde girl looked up from packing her bag

"Could I have a quick word?"

She nodded silently, still visibly embarrassed from earlier, and made her way self consciously to the front of the room as the door shut behind Blaine and Kurt, leaving her alone with the teacher.

She came to a stop directly in front of Santana's desk, with her eyes low, refusing to meet the pitying expression she felt sure the woman wore. She could feel her own cheeks getting hot as she replayed in her mind what Karofsky had said, words she had heard so many times during her time at school but that seemed so much more painful when Santana had been there to witness it.

There was a moment of silence as the brunette agonised over what to say. The look on Brittany's face made her chest ache, and she tried desperately to think of something to reassure her, to make her feel better.

"Are you alright?" Santana finally asked, mentally kicking herself for such a stupid question. Of course she wasn't alright, that was the whole reason they were having this conversation.

"I'm ok"

"I hope you didn't take any notice of Karofksy earlier. He isn't coming back to this class next term, I'm going to find another elective for him to take"

The cheerleader shifted uneasily, catching her lip between her teeth

"You didn't have to do that"

"Yes I did Brittany. I would rather him go back to doing extra football practise than stay in this class. He's a bully, he should be excluded for what he said to you"

There was a silence as Brittany shrugged sadly "I'm kind of used to it"

Her words made Santana frown and she moved round her desk, perching on the edge and gently pulling Brittany to sit next to her. The girl allowed herself to be guided but still refused to look up, instead fixing her eyes on her hands as she fiddled nervously with the hem of her Cheerio's skirt.

"Brittany..please...Karofsky is an idiot..."

Santana bent her head so she could make eye contact

"and you're one of the best students I've ever taught"

Brittany made a quiet noise of disbelief and Santana continued, her voice firm

"Brittany I'm serious. Just because you don't ace every exam doesn't mean you aren't intelligient...you are. Last week in that class debate, you were amazing. You knew exactly what you were talking about, you were so eloquent...he could never have done that"

She wrapped a comforting arm around the girl's shoulders and Brittany couldn't help but lean into her, blonde hair falling against the collar of Santana's shirt.

"Please don't be upset...you're so smart Brittany..I mean it..you're smart and you're talented...and you're beaut-..you're great...and he is so not worth you getting upset"

Brittany's head was on her shoulder now and Santana barely even noticed her hand beginning to stroke the cheerleader's soft blonde hair, moving automatically in a slow, reassuring rythm as she spoke.

"...I mean, Jesus Christ, he's never even got so much as a pass for any of his work..."

Brittany tilted her head up, resting it more comfortably on her teacher's shoulder and sighed softly. Her leg was pressed firmly against Santana's thigh and as she exhaled she suddenly became very aware of how close they were. Her hands were resting to the right of her lap, inches away from Santana's leg and with her body pressed into the brunette's side, she could feel every breath the other woman took. She never wanted to move.

Without stopping to think about it she slid her left hand over, hesitating slightly before resting it lightly on Santana's thigh, which tensed immediately under her touch. She felt like maybe she had made a mistake but her hand remained where she had put it, innocently placed over the woman's skirt as butterflies collided, speeding around her stomach.

Dragging her gaze upwards she realised Santana had stopped talking, her concerned gaze becoming questioning as Brittany had edged closer. They stared at each other, faces inches apart, both unsure of what was happening as wary brown eyes met nervous blue. Santana had frozen, her lips slightly parted, confusion making her thoughts hazy and she swallowed, eyes flicking to the hand resting on her leg.

Was Brittany coming onto her? It definitely seemed that way. She wished she could freeze time for a second to work this out, but the seconds hurtled past as her mind raced. What did it mean? Was Brittany interested in her? She couldn't believe what was happening and she couldn't move, sitting rooted the spot until the blonde edged forward bravely to close the gap and she instantly recoiled backwards.

Santana stumbled off of the desk, clumsy in her hurry to get away from the girl. Her face had fallen in an expression of almost comical surprise, her brown eyes wide and questioning, her mouth round with of shock as she inhaled sharply, finding it difficult to catch her breath. After searching Brittany's face for a second, she turned dizzily to face the board, her hand flying anxiously to her forehead, unable to stare into the bewildering blue eyes any longer.

She floundered for something to say, agonising over the right kind of response to the utterly confusing situation she had been plunged into and came up with nothing. Had Brittany been about to kiss her? She was sure of it. How was she supposed to react? Should she tell her off?

Her thoughts raged silently as she thought about what to do, swallowing down the panic that tried to overcome her when she thought about how hard it had been to push herself away. She closed her eyes against that thought and didn't even bother trying to reason with herself, just pushing it to the back of her mind along with all the other feelings for Brittany she'd found difficult to explain away. She needed to focus right now. On how to deal with this.

After what seemed to both of them a painfully long silence, Santana spoke, her voice solemn but gentle.

"...Brittany"

The cheerleader stared blankly at her teacher's back, panic thundering in her ears as she contemplated running out of the classroom, sprinting away without an explanation to escape from this embarrassment. She had just tried to kiss a teacher. A female teacher. And she'd been rejected. Her face burned, the unspilled tears from earlier welling up and painfully pricking at her eyes as she realised what she'd done.

Santana turned her head slightly as she spoke again, looking at the ground by Brittany's feet, unable to force her gaze any higher.

"Brittany..I...I don't know what to say"

At her soft words, the blonde unfroze, pushing herself off of the desk and walking carefully over to her table to pick up her things. Her eyes were glazed, her vision cloudy, but she collected her bag and jacket quickly and silently. Santana heard her move and turned, her trembling hand curling tightly around the edge of her desk as though it were the only thing keeping her upright.

She swallowed audibly, her throat dry and uncomfortable as the girl approached the door and yanked it open.

"Wait.."

Brittany paused only for a fraction of a second before carrying on, hurrying out of the door without making eye contact, her mouth set in a controlled line which she held, clenched in place until she got away. The door shut loudly behind her, making Santana wince as it jarred against the dream like reality that had engulfed the classroom and she walked slowly over to sit down at her desk, resting her head in her hands with a heavy sigh that shook her whole body.

...

**I'm really sorry this is late but things have been hectic. I had Christmas, and then it was my 19th birthday on sunday and yeah, so really busy.**

**I have another chapter almost finished so I promise that will be up really soon.**

**Anyway, hope it's ok, I know it isn't my best but I did it quite hurriedly and didn't really have time to check. Next chapter is way better, promise.**

**Hope you all had a good time over the holidays :)**

**x**


	12. Chapter 12

Santana walked down the street quickly, barely noticing the cold air as it bit at her bare arms and legs and swept her carefully styled hair into disarray. Her movements were a little unstable and she stumbled slightly as she stepped off of the side walk and across the road, heading in an, almost, straight line towards the mini mart that stood about a hundred feet in front of her, gaudy Christmas decorations still tacked up in the window.

She was coming straight from a New Years party at Will's house, running to get some tobacco quickly before she called a taxi and headed home, despite it only being 11.30.

Will had been reluctant for her to leave on her own at first, offering to take her home later himself but she had pleaded a headache, saying she didn't feel like staying till the end and she was fine making her own way back.

"Well can't you just call a taxi from here?" He had pleaded, offering her his phone "Do you really need to go and get cigarettes right now?"

But she had nodded firmly, not taking the proffered mobile "Yes I really do. And I'm going to call a taxi as soon as I get there Will, it's 2 minutes away, I'll be fine"

"Well...shall I walk you over?"

She had let out a small noise of irritation and grabbed up her bag to leave

"Will, it's across the street for God sake, stop being an idiot. I can make it by myself"

And he had finally let her go, telling her to promise to ring him the minute she got home and to come back if there was any trouble at all, whilst she stood in front of him, nodding impatiently like a sullen teenager.

"Yeah ok, ok, I promise, I will. I'll see you later" She paused "Oh and hey, good party, thanks" She had told him, giving him a peck on the cheek and calling a polite goodbye to Emma who stood hovering in the hall, waiting for Will with a half empty wine glass in her hand.

"See you next week Emma" She smirked "..and don't you go too crazy on that wine now, y'hear?"

The woman giggled, her cheeks slightly pink from the alcohol she wasn't used to drinking and gave the other woman a small wave

"Bye Santana, I hope you feel better"

The brunette turned, leaning into Will as he led her to the door

"Goodnight Will, happy new years"

He gave her arm a friendly squeeze as she stepped into the hallway

"You too, thanks for coming"

She paused before leaving, leaning forward to talk quietly into his ear so Emma wouldn't hear

"Oh and Will?"

"...Yeah?"

"I really think you ought to kiss Emma at midnight tonight...before she necks the rest of that bottle of wine in frustration and ends up getting her stomach pumped"

He laughed and pulled back so he could look at her in confusion

"What?...What do you mean?"

Santana raised her eyebrows, not buying his feigned surprise and lay a friendly hand on his shoulder

"Come on Will...you know what I mean. The tension between you two is almost painful"

She moved her hand up to pat his cheek

"And if you both carry on being so frigid then it'll never happen. So you've got to make the first move ok?"

He seemed unsure of what to say so she gave him one last peck on the cheek and turned to walk away down the hallway.

"Have a good night Will"

He had nodded, clearly considering her words as he swallowed nervously

"Yeah, bye Santana"

She had smiled and waved as he stood at the door of his apartment, watching her walk away until she reached the stairs and disappeared down, and out onto the street below. Outside the building she had set off at a brisk pace, following the directions he had given her to a small convenience store at the end of his road and ignoring the car that tooted her loudly as she crossed the street. It briefly entered her mind to flip the driver her middle finger, but seeing the shop up ahead the thought was quickly replaced with a sudden renewal of her need for tobacco, and she quickened her stride.

Reaching the store, she pushed open the door with a little more force than was necessary, the bright, artificial lights making her wince as she stepped unsteadily inside and headed directly towards the coolers at the back. She hadn't been intending to buy any alcohol at first, cigarettes being her only motivation for coming to the shop, but suddenly, the thought of going home alone without anything further to drink had seemed so depressing that she didn't hesitate in going straight to the liquor isle.

She came to a sharp stop in front of the beers, squinting at the logos that swam in front of her eyes and realised with some surprise that she was actually already fairly drunk. But, she thought with a frown, not quite yet drunk enough to stop herself from calling Taylor if she started to feel a little lonely tonight. She would need at least a few more drinks to rule that out, and if she was sober enough to operate her phone then it was still a legitimate danger, so she leaned forward, using the shelf for balance and tried again to decipher the labels. After standing there for another minute, she had made her mind up and reached out to drag a 4 pack of Bud off of the shelf, cradling the heavy bottles to her chest and tucking her purse precariously under one arm.

She turned to make her way to the counter, not even noticing the tall blonde girl who stood in a hooded jacket facing the spirits, until she accidentally brushed against her on her way past and nearly dropped her beers.

"Oh, god, sorry" she said, regaining her balance as the girl turned, both of them freezing in surprise as their eyes met.

"...Brittany"

This was the first time they had seen each other since the awkward scene in her classroom and Santana felt a small jolt in her stomach as she looked into the nervous blue eyes, her mouth opening uselessly as she tried to think of something to say. Brittany stared back, unsure of how to react and vaguely embarrassed at the large bottle of vodka she held down by her side, out of Santana's eye line. She had come from a party at her house, a gathering of only Glee kids, so her outfit was casual, a pair of faded levis, plain black strap top and a jacket Sam had leant her for the night, her hair hanging loose and messy around her shoulders.

She swallowed, the sudden lump in her throat making it difficult, and gave Santana an awkward smile

"Hi"

She had been dreading going back to school and having to face her teacher after what had happened, so running into her on New years eve at her local corner shop felt like a weird nightmare. What was the brunette even doing here? Had she come from a party? Was she going to a party? She felt sure that the woman didn't live anywhere in the area.

Letting her gaze drift downwards she took in Santana's outfit, not being able to help but notice how beautiful she looked. She wore a tight black sheath dress, cut halfway up her tanned thigh and with a plunging neckline, the silky black material hugging every curve like it had been custom made and showing off just the right amount of toned, olive skin. Her heels were higher than usual, 6 inch scarlet stilettos which for once made her slightly taller than Brittany, who stood an inch below her in flat pumps. As usual her hair was down, but she wore it in loose curls, pinned at the side like a 1940's movie star with her make up carefully done to match the same style. She looked slightly windswept, and her eyes were a little bleary but she still looked unbelievable, happiness lighting up her face as she greeted the blonde, genuinely pleased to see her.

"Hey"

Santana clumsily repositioned the beers in her arms, securing the purse more firmly and smiled, trying to put the girl at ease. She had hated the way they had left things in the classroom and she was determined that it wouldn't be awkward between them next term, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to let Brittany know she wasn't upset with her. Her brain still felt slightly fuzzy but she ignored it, focusing instead on trying to start a friendly conversation.

"So, what are you doing here?" She asked, looking down at Brittany's hands and raising her eyebrows with a smirk when she saw the alcohol. "...Oh"

Brittany blushed. But there was no point in trying to hide the bottle now, and she was pretty sure Santana wouldn't try and stop her, so she didn't bother to lie.

"Well I live just down the street, I'm having a new years party...and we ran out of drinks"

"Right" said Santana, before leaning in and lowering her voice "So, do you have a fake ID?"

"I use my cousins"

Santana nodded knowingly, giving Brittany a conspirational wink and the blonde couldn't help but smile. Was her teacher drunk? She seemed a little unsteady as they both went to pay and the cheerleader noticed the beers clutched tightly to her chest. As they stood behind a man paying for gas she continued their conversation, feeling surprisingly less awkward than before.

"So umm..don't you live like on the other side of town?" She asked, genuinely curious as to why the woman was here.

Santana nodded, trying to manoeuvre her purse open with one hand whilst still holding onto the clinking bottles.

"Yeah, I do but I was at a party" The purse slid down her side but she managed to pin it with her elbow, the beers balanced dangerously as she bent into an awkward position. "Will's party actually- Uh Brittany could you give me a hand?"

"Oh, yeah sure"

Brittany hurriedly reached under Santana's arm, her hand brushing against smooth skin as she took the purse so Santana could straighten up, regaining a firmer hold of the bottles. Once she was steady she held out her hand, smiling as the girl placed the chanel clutch back into her grasp and carrying on with her explanation.

"Thanks -so yeah I was at a party, and then I was on my way home and I decided to stop here quickly before I got a taxi"

She nodded at her drinks with a small smile that made Brittany's heart clench

"...There's nothing worse than being sober for the countdown"

Brittany smiled shyly and gestured to her own bottle of vodka

"Agreed"

The man in front of them finished paying and Santana stepped up to the till, pushing the beer onto the counter with a friendly smile at the cashier. He rang up the Bud before putting it into a bag and turned back to the strikingly beautiful woman in front of him.

"Is there anything else I can do for you today ma'am?" he asked politely.

Santana hesitated, looking back quickly at Brittany before leaning forward and saying in a voice slightly quieter than before,

"Could I get a pack of Marlborough red?..thanks"

He set them down in front of her and she fumbled to get them quickly into her purse, pulling out a $20 bill to pay as she dropped them into the bag.

Brittany watched, wondering why the woman tried to hide the cigarettes but not saying anything when Santana stepped to the side and it was her turn to be served.

After they had both paid they walked together towards the door, Brittany holding it open for her teacher and then following her out onto the sidewalk where Santana turned to the blonde with friendly concern.

"You'll be ok getting home?"

Brittany smiled and pointed down the street "That's my house just there, I'll be fine"

"Oh ok, great"

Brittany watched as the brunette placed her carrier bag on the ground and dug into her clutch for her blackberry.

"Are you ordering a taxi?"

"Yeah"

"Ok, I'll wait with you"

Santana looked up with a smile

"Brittany, I'm fine, you don't have to wait with me"

Finding her phone she pulled it out, jabbing at the keypad impatiently and struggling to unlock the screen with clumsy fingers. She looked up to see the blonde watching her with a raised eyebrow and laughed.

"So I'm a little drunk...it's New Years, who isn't?"

Pointing at the bag in Brittany's hand she added "See, you are too, and you aren't even old enough"

She managed to bring up her contacts list and squinted at the screen before finding the number she was looking for and holding it up to her ear. As it rang she turned back to the cheerleader.

"Brittany, I'm good, seriously. I don't want you to miss your part- Oh hi..could I please get a taxi from outside..."

She looked behind her up at the sign above the shop and stared at in in confusion

"Uhh, from outside..Joe's?...It's a convienience store..."

Brittany stepped forward holding her hand out for the phone, which Santana reluctantly handed over after the operator on the end of the line began to get agitated. She gave the exact address of where they were and told the woman that yes, 20 minutes was fine, before hanging up and handing it back to the frowning brunette.

"It won't be here until 5 past so I'm definitely waiting with you. This isn't the best neighbourhood...and you clearly don't know your way around"

Santana shrugged, seeming more than a little pleased Brittany cared so much and picked up her beers, heading over to a bench a few metres from them and sitting down.

"If you really don't mind.."

"I don't" said the blonde firmly, sitting beside her.

"Well alright then"

Santana reached into her bag beside her, her fingers closing around the packet of cigarettes before she seemed to remember it was a bad influence and she withdrew her hand quickly.

Brittany smiled.

"You can smoke...I don't mind"

Santana turned, her expression guilty

"Really?...because I feel like I shouldn't...I am your teacher"

The blonde laughed

"It's fine, honestly I don't care"

Santana was torn, but seemed to decide after a second that it wasn't such an awful thing to do and pulled the packet from her bag, hastily unwrapping the plastic before balancing a cigarette between her lips and lighting up.

She savoured the first drag, inhaling deeply and blowing the smoke out in a long, satisfied sigh. There was a moment of silence, both of them surprised at how comfortable it felt, until Brittany spoke again.

"So, how come you left Mr Schue's party so early?"

Santana flicked her ash onto the ground carefully before answering, the alcohol encouraging her to reply honestly.

"I couldn't really face the countdown to be honest"

"Oh..how come?"

She was a little embarrassed at her answer but said it anyway, looking up at Brittany who stared earnestly back at her.

"It sounds kind of sad but...I guess it just kind of sucks when you don't have anyone to kiss at midnight"

The blonde nodded gently, she knew the feeling exactly.

It wasn't that she hadn't had any offers, she'd had plenty, but she couldn't have been less interested in any of them. Earlier in the night she'd already been approached by Puck, Artie and Sam, all hoping she would be their first kiss of the new year, and she'd reacted the same way to all of them, dismissing their comments with a laugh and hoping they would forget about it later. But surely Santana would have been able to find someone to kiss? She was stunning, and she looked even more beautiful tonight than ever.

"Was there really no one?"

The brunette pulled a face, taking another deep tug on her cigarette before shrugging.

"Uh, well, there were a few takers, I'll admit...but no one I was interested in"

She looked at the girl beside her, unsure of whether what she about to say would make things awkward again but deciding to go ahead anyway.

"What about you?...You're going to miss it if you stay here with me. You sure you aren't disappointing anyone?"

She waited for Brittany's reply, fervently hoping it would be a no and feeling a light relief spread through her when the girl shook her head.

"No, I actually left to get drinks so I would miss it"

"Oh"

Santana didn't know what else to say so she finished her cigarette slowly, stubbing it out on the bench and flicking the butt into the gutter when she was done.

"Ms. Lopez?"

She turned to see Brittany looking at her uneasily, and she had a feeling she knew what the next topic for discussion would be so she smiled, trying to make it less uncomfortable.

"It's Santana when we're out of school remember"

Brittany faltered "Oh, yeah..I forgot"

She took a deep breath "...umm, so..Santana?"

The brunette sat up a little straighter, suddenly feeling more sober than she had in hours and resolved to get this over with quickly

"Uh huh?"

Brittany looked down at her hands, unable to make eye contact as she spoke

"I just wanted to say...I wanted to say, that I'm sorry...for what happened at school the other day"

"Brittany.."

"I'm just really sorry, it was so so stupid and-"

"Brittany" Santana's tone was firm as she interrupted the girl again "Brittany don't apologise, it's fine"

"But-"

She laid a hand on the younger girl's knee looking into her nervous blue eyes as she said again "It's fine, honestly...just don't worry about it, I'm not, so you shouldn't either"

After a second the blonde nodded, pleased that Santana seemed so unfazed, and relieved they had finally addressed the issue. She breathed out, wrapping Sam's jacket tightly around her as she relaxed.

"..Ok"

Santana leant back away from Brittany and lifted her phone from her lap to stare at the screen, vaguely aware that her hand was trembling slightly.

"Only 2 minutes to go" she said quietly "Any resolutions for the new year?"

The blonde looked up at the stars, considering the question thoughtfully for a second before shaking her head

"Not really" She paused to look at the brunette "I don't really believe in the whole New Years Resolution thing actually...I kind of think if there is something about yourself you want to change, then you should just do it. I don't know why you would wait for the new year to be a better person"

Santana regarded her carefully before moving a little closer along the bench, their arms pressed together as they both looked up into the night sky.

"I think you're right"

They were sitting close and Santana tilted her head so it almost rested against Brittany's. She inhaled slowly before speaking again.

"You're really smart you know Brittany"

There was a silence before the blonde girl sighed heavily, her voice low

"You're the only person who thinks that"

But Santana was indignant

"Well then I'm the only person who knows what they're talking about. Plus, that isn't even true, plenty of people know how smart you are"

"You're my teacher, you have to say that "

Brittany laughed softly "...And you're drunk"

Santana sat up to turn her face towards the girl, brushing black curls behind her ear as they swung forward with the movement

"Yes, ok, I'm a little bit drunk...but I mean it Brittany, I do"

The blonde's eyes searched her face, a strange sadness over her features as she stared into her teacher's sincere gaze before looking away, pushing up the sleeve of her jacket to look at her watch. She didn't know if it was just the wine coolers she'd had earlier but things had suddenly felt too intense and she focused instead on the time, Santana following her gaze.

And as they stared at her wrist together a sudden thought, unsettling and scary, flashed into the brunette's head and she didn't know if she was terrified or relieved that she could finally see her own feelings so clearly. In that moment, shivering slightly on a bench somewhere in Lima, her previous plans for the evening forgotten, she couldn't think of anyone else she'd rather be with right then than Brittany.

And in her tipsy, hazy state it suddenly seemed so obvious that she couldn't see why she hadn't known it before, her mind ignoring the objections her logic usually provided when sober.

She wanted Brittany.

"40 seconds"

They sat silently, side by side, eyes on Brittany's watch as it slowly ticked away the last seconds of 2011, both of them feeling a little apprehensive without knowing exactly why, shoulders pressed tightly together. With 5 seconds to go they turned to each other, 'Happy New Year' already forming on both their lips as their faces got closer, Santana's arm wrapping unconsciously around Brittany's waist as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Santana's lips were parted as the clock struck midnight, but instead of speaking, the brunette closed her eyes tightly, not letting herself think about what she was doing, and leaned forward, crushing their lips firmly together as the night exploded in red, blue and gold behind them, lighting up with fireworks as Ohio welcomed in the new year.

**...**

**I like this chapter, it was fun to write so I hope you enjoy it too.**

**I know I have completely skipped Christmas in this story but I can't really bothered to include a whole christmas bit so sorry if it doesn't flow as well but I'm not going to do it. If you do really want to know though, within the realms of this fic, Santana probs stayed at home ignoring calls from Taylor and Brittany went skiing with her family. They both had an ok time. **

**Ok, it's 3.00am, I have work in the morning and I didn't even check this for typos. I hope it reads ok. **

**Your reviews make me happy so please do tell me what you think. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 14**

With a soft groan Santana rolled onto her back, kicking the bed sheets off of her suddenly uncomfortably warm skin and wincing as the movement sent a faint rush of nausea through her whole body.

She brought her hand up slowly as her stomach settled, resting it on her clammy forehead and gently rubbing the sleep from her eyes, before carefully lifting her head to squint at the digital clock that sat on her bedside drawer.

11.49am

She fell back onto the pillow with a sigh, her hair fanning out beneath her and let her eyes fall shut again, noting how exhausted she still felt.

She never woke up this late. Unless of course she'd drank copious amounts of alcohol before going to sleep, which the soft pounding in her head confirmed she had.

But when?

Her memories of the night before felt fuzzy and out of focus but she breathed out, thinking hard and trying to sift through the night's events in her head, wondering at what point exactly she had ended up so drunk.

There was Will's party, she remembered going to that fairly clearly. Having a few too many glasses of wine as she watched Emma fawning all over Will, whilst she'd had to make forced conversation with the few people she only half knew. She vaguely remembered being hit on by one of his neighbours, but then she had left pretty early, bored and ready to go home drink to alone.

But she hadn't headed back to her apartment straight away, she had gone...gone...she paused, where had she gone?

Screwing up her face, she tried to remember where she had gone next, recreating the walk out of Will's place in her mind to jog her memory. She had wanted cigarettes, so she must have stopped at a shop somewhere. But where? She tried to picture Will's neighbourhood, trying to remember if she had dropped into a garage anywhere around there but her brain was slow and her dry throat distracted her, forcing her to give up at least until she'd had some water and an aspirin.

So she rolled out of bed slowly, her tired limbs reluctant and her headache beating a steady rhythm behind her heavy eyes as she padded to the kitchen. She propped herself against the sink as she half filled a glass and swallowed it thirstily, refilling it to the top before she sat down heavily at the table, 2 painkillers clutched in one hand.

After throwing the pills clumsily into her mouth and chasing them down with a large gulp of water she rested her head heavily against her hands, her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the aspirin to take effect.

After a few minutes of sleepy silence, she heard a gentle buzzing, the noise making her groan and look up, her eyes automatically searching for her blackberry.

Her bag was on the worktop behind her and she leant around in her chair, dragging it off the counter towards her and fumbling inside to pull out her phone.

She had 4 missed calls.

12.30am, 12.45am, 1.00am and one this morning at 9.00am. All from Will.

She frowned at the screen, why had Will called her? She sighed and rubbed her hand over her eyes once again, still not feeling quite awake.

She flicked back to the menu display and clicked on the little envelope icon, a scarlet number 3 lighting up next to it.

The first text was from Will, sent at 1.02am and reminding her that she had promised to ring him when she got home and he was starting to get worried.

That explained the phonecalls she realised, tapping out an apologetic reply and feeling a little guilty that she had obviously gotten so drunk she had forgotten.

The next was also from Will, sent this morning at 8.13am, but presuming it to be another reminder to contact him, she clicked past without reading to the third one, staring in confusion at the number she didn't recognise before glancing down at the text, sent at 10.47am this morning.

_Hey, how are you feeling this morning? Brittany xx_

"Brittany?..." She muttered quietly, her head tilted in confusion "Why does Brittany have my numb-"

Santana paused for a moment as her eyes read and then re read the name at the end, blinking in shock as her her mind began to race and her heart beat painfully against her chest.

With a sudden rush of panic, the mist that had temporarily obscured her memory cleared and drunken flashes of what had happened ran through her head, leaving her wishing she could go back to the blank unknown of a minute before.

The shop...John's..or Joe's..or something like that..she had gone to get some beers and then...then she had ran into Brittany...they had talked for a bit...then she had gone outside and ordered a taxi...and then they sat down together on a bench to wait...and then...and then...

"Fuck"

Santana's phone dropped to the table as she brought both hands up to her face, squeezing her eyes shut tightly to try and make the image disappear. But the memory was too strong and she couldn't help but remember as the surreal scene she had thought was a dream played out again in her mind.

_With her eyes shut she had leant forward, her mouth grazing Brittany's as the fireworks exploded behind them. The blonde had seemed surprised, gasping quietly into the dark, but responded at once, taking Santana's breath away as her soft lips moved expertly, with a gentle insistency that the woman hadn't expected._

_They leaned into each other, impatient to feel their bodies closer together and as she felt Brittany's arm wrap tightly around her waist, an anxious weight seemed to fall away inside Santana. All the stress that she had been carrying, all the effort of trying to ignore her feelings, to hide them even from herself, seemed to dissipate as Brittany pulled her closer, the blonde's warm, safe hands holding her firmly, fitting against her so perfectly that she didn't know how she hadn't missed them before._

_Shifting position, Brittany ran her tongue lightly over Santana's full bottom lip, as though she were too nervous to push further without the woman's permission, and smiled gratefully into the kiss when the brunettes lips parted immediately, granting her access. The cheerleader tasted sweet, like Malibu and coke, and her gently probing tongue made Santana's head spin, her heart hammering furiously against her chest._

_With her free hand she had reached for Brittany's, interlocking their fingers as the kiss deepened and she squeezed gently, unsure of how to communicate how amazingly perfect this felt but praying that Brittany felt it too._

_The blonde had squeezed back softly, affectionately, and Santana's heart had beat even faster, it's thundering pace almost deafening, blocking out all other sound until everything was Brittany and she could barely even think with the intensity._

_Eventually though, breathing had become an unfortunate necessity and they broke apart, brown eyes meeting blue as they gazed in wonder at each other. Santana had lifted her hand slowly, touching her fingers gently to the blonde's face as she breathed out slowly._

_"Brittany..." she started, her voice low "Brittany, I-"_

_But she was interrupted by the bright headlights of an approaching taxi, and whatever she had been about to say was forgotten as they instantly flinched back, keeping their hands linked but moving their bodies into less conspicuous positions as the car pulled up a few metres away. _

_Santana ran her thumb reassuringly over the back of Brittany's hand as they both stood up, the moment broken, and turned to her with an unsure smile, her voice barely above a whisper._

_"...I don't really know what to say..."_

_Brittany squeezed her hand gently_

_"..me neither"_

_A moment of silence as Santana hesitated, before holding her phone out resolutely to Brittany._

_"..maybe you could, take my number?.." _

_She took a breath as though she was going to add something but floundered, shutting her mouth with a nervous swallow when she realised she couldn't think of anything else to say._

_The blonde nodded wordlessly before typing Santana's number carefully into her contacts and then pressing the phone back into the brunette's hand, brushing her fingers lightly against the woman's wrist as they stared at each other nervously._

_Santana broke the silence, the intrusive eyes of the taxi driver distracting her from the mesmerising blue gaze in front of her and pointed her thumb towards the car._

_"I should probably go..." _

_Brittany nodded again reluctantly, her fingers still interlaced with Santana's and unwilling to let go._

_"Yeah..I guess you should"_

_"..But, __we could maybe talk..in the morning..or something" Santana suggested as they moved towards the car, her lips still tingling with the taste of Brittany's and having to stop herself from leaning forward to kiss her again._

_"Yes, definitely...I could ring you?"_

_Santana had to bite back a delighted smile as she bobbed her head slowly in agreement_

_"Yeah ok"_

_Finally letting go of her hand, Brittany leaned in to open the car door for Santana, stepping back to help the woman climb somewhat unsteadily into the car. _

_The taxi driver, a short, overweight man with a cheerful smile turned to nod at Brittany before asking Santana where she was heading. She recited her address as Brittany stood waiting and she turned to the girl once she had finished speaking __with a small smile and a soft, quiet sigh._

_"Goodnight Brittany..thanks for waiting with me"_

_Brittany smiled back_

_"..no problem..Goodnight Santana"_

_She shut the door with a soft click and stepped back onto the sidewalk, her hand raised in a half wave as the car pulled away. _

_In the taxi, Santana turned in her seat, unable to stop looking at Brittany as they drove up the road and only reluctantly turning back to face front when the cheerleader became a tiny, indiscernible blur, so small that she got swallowed up by the darkness and disappeared from view._

The memory flooded her mind, the taste and feel of Brittany, of everything that had happened, so vivid now that she couldn't believe she had briefly forgotten, and Santana let out a soft whimper.

"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck"

Her head was in her hands and she sat rigid in shock , a steady stream of muttered expletives falling from her lips as she tried to put her frantic thoughts into some kind of coherent order.

What was she supposed to do now?

This was serious. She could be in real trouble, it wasn't just some stupid little crush any more...she had kissed a high school student. A female high school student.

They had kissed, and it had been perfect, and it had been brilliant and it could absolutely never happen again.

"So unprofessional" she said aloud. Fuck, it was probably illegal too.

She swallowed nervously, Jesus Christ, of course it was illegal. She had committed a crime. She could go to prison.

Even knowing that Brittany would never tell anyone couldn't get that thought out of her head. She could actually go to prison for what she had done last night.

A shrill ringing made her jump and she looked down nervously at the blackberry on the table. It was face down where she had dropped it and she reached forward tentatively to turn it over, her jaw dropping in horror when she saw the number flashing on the screen. She was pretty sure that was the number she hadn't recognized earlier, Brittany's number.

She couldn't answer it.

What would she say to her?

She shouldn't be saying anything to her. She had to forget about Brittany, nothing could happen again and answering the call would only encourage it.

Of course she wouldn't answer it.

Her hand crept forward hesitantly, gingerly lifting up the phone with all the delicacy of a bomb disposal expert and she stared down at the screen, agonising over what to do.

It was so wrong. She shouldn't even entertain the idea of answering.

She definitely wasn't going to do it. She would just let it ring out and hope she didn't call again.

She waited until the phone was silent and breathed a sigh of relief when the noise stopped abruptly, only to feel her pulse race again when a quiet buzz told her she had a new text 30 seconds later. Her fingers trembled slightly as she clicked it open.

_I guess you're still asleep, I hope this doesn't wake you up but I just wanted to check that things are Ok between us? Really hope you're alright. B xx_

Reading the text with Brittany's voice in her head made Santana's chest feel tight. She could hear the worry and confusion in it and she hated to be the cause of that, it was so unfair to the cheerleader but she didn't have a choice. She was a teacher, Brittany was a student, and that had to be the end of it.

So ignoring the uncomfortable pricking behind her eyes, she turned her phone off and placed it back in her bag without replying.

She took a deep breath to steady herself before getting up, and made her way decidedly into the bathroom, peeling off her pyjamas and stepping wearily under the hot blast of the shower. She closed her eyes as the droplets cascaded over her, and a dejected sigh escaped her lips as the water she had hoped would cleanse her mind did nothing to ease her tension, leaving her mind racing with the memory of last night and her resolve weak when she couldn't stop herself from remembering the feeling of Brittany's soft, sweet lips on hers.

...

**Ok firstly Grammarnazi:...Did you just tell me off?...Because really, if you can't bear me forgetting to use full stops (I assume that's what a 'period' is?) then maybe just don't read it? And Jesus Christ, try to remember it's only fanfiction, I'm not trying to be Dickens here. But, aside from that, a genuine thank you for reminding me in a kind and condescending way that I am in fact 19, because sometimes I am just so busy using poor grammar and abusing sentence structuring that I do forget my how old I am. So cheers. **

**Anyway, sorry if the full stop things annoys other people too, I will try to remember them in future. **

**Annnd, I know it's late, it's real late and not even a very long chapter and I'm sorry again, but I've been really busy with uni stuff and work etc. I'll try and keep the updates more regular but I can't promise it will be every week. But I do promise I'll never just stop writing halfway through so don't worry about that. **

**So, thanks for reviewing, I hope you like. I have way more hits for this story than I ever thought I'd get which is crazy so thank you so much for reading, really.**

**x**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_Monday_

A door banged shut and Brittany looked up expectantly, taking a deep breath as she saw the familiar figure approaching from out of the school and across the parking lot. She pushed herself forward from the wall she had been leaning against and straightened up, pulling nervously at her cheerios skirt and smoothing a hand self consciously over her ponytail. Santana didn't notice her right away, her gaze focused on the blackberry in her hand and Brittany stared as the woman continued towards her, unaware of the blonde's presence until she finally looked up and came to an abrupt stop a few metres away.

"...Brittany"

She sounded almost frightened and the blonde watched as her eyes flicked anxiously around the deserted parking lot. After satisfying herself there was no one around, she turned her gaze back to the blonde, seeming to steady herself and forcing a smile to her lips.

"Did you..did you have something to ask about class?"

Her voice sounded high and unnatural and Brittany noticed that she stayed standing awkwardly where she had stopped, unwilling to close the gap between them. Brittany suddenly wondered if she had made a mistake in forcing the woman to talk to her, maybe this would only make things worse? Clearly Santana didn't want too see her right now.

But would she ever want to see her Brittany wondered? She had already waited for what felt like forever and she couldn't carry on waiting, hoping for Santana make the first move.

She had to be honest.

"No"

At the cheerleader's abrupt reply Santana stared at the ground, seeming unsure of what to do next. She shifted her purse further up her shoulder and took a slow breath before speaking again.

"Right."

She looked up, her guarded eyes meeting Brittany's and they stared without words, a faint, worried crease etched into Santana's forehead.

Finally, she gave another, quick look around the car park, before unlocking the Mercedes and gesturing reluctantly for Brittany to get in.

"..I guess I better take you home"

...

They rode without talking for the first few minutes, Santana keeping her eyes trained on the road, gripping the wheel tightly as she waited for Brittany to say something. There was an uncomfortable awkwardness between them, hanging in the air as a constant reminder of the kiss that they both could not forget, yet neither wanted to address.

Finally, with her eyes flicking nervously to the woman next to her, the blonde carefully broke the heavy silence.

"So..how are you?"

Santana didn't answer right away and Brittany was about to speak again when she heard the woman reply softly,

"I'm ok..how are you?"

Brittany answered truthfully

"Not great..you've been avoiding me"

Santana protested weakly but her excuses didn't convince either of them and she let the cheerleader finish.

"..you didn't talk to me at all in class today"

"It was the first day back Brittany. I had so many things to do...I just-"

Brittany frowned

"Yeah, you were busy...I get it"

A flash of guilt passed across the brunette's face but Brittany didn't see, her eyes fixed on the passing streets outside the window, unable to force her gaze towards her teacher. A block of houses passed before she spoke again, her voice low.

"..did you get my texts?"

The woman swallowed and tucked a strand of hair nervously behind her ear

"Yes"

"You didnt reply"

Santana sighed sadly, the despair in the cheerleader's voice making her heart constrict.

"Brittany...I couldnt"

"Why?"

"You know why"

"Do I?..I just wanted to know if you were ok, it wasn't...it's not..."

Her shoulders slumped as she tailed off, unable to articulate what she really wanted to say.

How she had waited and waited to text, not wanting to disturb her too early but desperate to know how she was feeling, what she was thinking about the night before. How she had sat on her bed all day, staring intently at her phone, willing it to buzz, praying for a text saying anything, just a reply, a good morning would have been enough. And how nothing had come. No text, no call. How she had been miserable every day of the last week of the Christmas holidays, confused and upset, wanting so badly to go back to school and see Santana, and equally scared to go back, dreading finding out the reasons Santana had been avoiding contact and terrified that she already knew what they were.

How could she hope to explain all of that, all of those feelings, how she had thought of nothing else, to a woman who had barely been able to make eye contact with her that morning in class? It was impossible.

"...I just wanted to know you were ok"

Santana nodded gently

"I know"

"Then why couldn't you reply?"

"Because you shouldn't even have my number. I'm your teacher"

Brittany sighed, tired of hearing those familiar words.

"Well, you gave it to me"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I shouldnt have done that...it was a mistake"

"A mistake?"

Santana's voice was tight when she answered.

"Yes. A mistake Brittany. I was very drunk, I didn't mean to...to..kiss you, and I'm sorry. It was completely irresponsible of me...I should never have done it...but I was drunk...and I was feeling kind of down because of new years..but that's not an excuse...it just shouldn't have happened...and I'm sorry"

Brittany took a deep breath and braced herself for the reply she knew was coming as she asked quietly,

"..but did it mean anything?"

"Brittany..."

"Just tell me...did it mean anything at all to you?"

Santana felt sick, her heart hammering in her chest and her palms clammy against the steering wheel as she answered gently, wanting more than anything to tell Brittany the truth, to say what she knew she couldn't. That of course it meant something to her, of course it hadn't been nothing, how could Brittany not know that? How could she not feel that it had meant everything?

"No...it didn't...it didn't mean anything to me"

She choked the words out, flinching when she saw the girl's reaction.

"...I'm sorry"

There was a horrible silence as she finished, the blonde swallowing down the dull ache in her throat and trying to blink away the hot tears that threatened to fall. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded hollow.

"Could you pull over please?"

Santana turned her head, confused

"What?"

Brittany refused to meet her gaze, keeping her blurring eyes on her lap.

"Can you please pull over? I want to get out"

"But we aren't at your house yet"

Brittany's voice rose, desperate to get out of the car before she embarrassed herself further by bursting into tears.

"Just let me out, I can walk"

"I don't want you to walk. I want to make sure you get back ok"

"I'll be fine. Just stop"

Santana shook her head, looking almost near tears herself

"I can't...Please let me take you home Brittany"

The blonde let out a noise of frustration

"Stop doing that! Just stop it, please"

"Stop doing what?"

"Pretending like you really care about me"

Santana turned to her with a pained look, her voice pleading.

"But I do care about you"

Brittany finally looked up, unable to stop her tears overflowing.

"Yeah, in the same way you care about Rachel, and Puck, and Quinn...it's not what I meant"

Santana breathed out heavily, wanting to say so many things, wanting so badly to reach across and hold the crying girl in front of her.

"Brittany...please..just let me drive you home"

But Brittany was barely listening and desperate to get out of the car she unclipped her belt, putting one hand firmly against the door handle.

"Ms. Lopez, I'd like to get out"

Santana looked like it physically hurt her but she finally gave in, slowing the car to a stop, her hands trembling as she jerked the handbrake.

As soon as they stopped moving, Brittany threw open the door and climbed out, tugging her bag after her and not looking back at Santana as she walked away, tears running freely down her face. Angry at herself, she swept a hand roughly across her cheeks and willed herself to stop crying, to stop being so stupid.

Of course Santana didn't like her like that. Santana was a beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman who could probably have anyone she wanted, and Brittany was just a stupid, blonde cheerleader who was barely 18.

The embarrassment made her stomach clench uncomfortably and she walked faster towards her street, her head down as another sob burst painfully from her throat, sending a fresh river of tears coursing down her face.

...

_Wednesday_

Santana checked her watch distractedly, flicking her eyes down without really seeing as the faint frown that she had worn almost permanently in the last few weeks settled over her face once again. Term had only started 3 days ago and she already felt exhausted. She looked down again, realising she hadn't actually noticed the time, and forced herself to take in the numbers on her wrist.

3.46PM

That meant it had been almost exactly 52 hours since she'd seen Brittany.

She pressed her eyes together wearily for a second, sighing gently. She really shouldn't be thinking like that. But after everything that had happened on Monday, she had thought of nothing else. The sight of Brittany walking away, tears pouring down her perfect face had proved impossible to get out of Santana's head, and every time she remembered their conversation, which seemed to be at least once an hour, she felt a painful tug of guilt in her chest that would remain there persistently until she managed to distract herself with something else for awhile. She had looked out for the girl the next day at school but had been surprised, and a little worried, to find her missing not only from her class but also all her other lessons too. Brittany's attendance had been perfect up until now and it made Santana's chest tighten to think that she might be taking the time off because of what had been said in her car.

Reaching the classroom she leant forward to pull the door handle, forcing thoughts of Brittany from her head until later and debating whether to pick up her marking to take home now, or to just stay and finish it at her desk. She decided quickly to just stay and pushing open the door, her thoughts were preoccupied with how long it would take and exactly how liberal she should be with the grades, seeing as it was the start of term.

The blinds were drawn, leaving the room shadowy and dim as she entered, and although a hushed sound in the corner drew her eyes, it took a few seconds for her to fully comprehend what she was seeing.

Two dark figures, one half laying across a desk, arms wrapped gently around the other as a curtain of dark hair fell around their faces, partially obscuring the lips that connected them. 2 bags lay discarded on a nearby chair, clearly forgotten as the kiss deepened and hands disappeared under the shorter girl's shirt, suddenly jarring Santana out of her silence. Soft moans had prevented them from hearing Santana's quiet entrance, but her audible gasp when she had realised what she was seeing seemed to catch their attention and two heads snapped towards her.

"Oh!"

With a surprised whimper, Rachel pushed herself off of the desk, pulling a mortified Quinn by the hand to stand beside her, her eyes wide with terror. With their hands clasped tightly together, they stared at the teacher, cheeks blushing scarlet as they stood frozen in panic.

Santana regarded the two girls with complete confusion, ruffled hair, slightly breathless, a few undone buttons on Quinn's blouse. What the hell was going on? Wasn't Quinn with Puck? Wasn't Rachel with that tall football player guy? She shook her head faintly in disbelief. Was just everyone at McKinley gay now?

She lifted one hand to her forehead, forcibly closing her mouth that had been hanging open in shock and sighed wearily.

"uh...what is going on?"

Rachel chewed her lip nervously, eyes darting instantly to Quinn who stared guiltily at the ground.

"Um..we were...well, we were-"

Santana could't help a small smile at the girl's obvious discomfort.

"Yes, I saw what you were doing Rachel, you don't have to explain that...but why are you here? School finished almost an hour ago, and well, this is my classroom...not the back seat of your car"

Santana's tone seemed to put Rachel at ease and she visibly relaxed a little, seeming to find her voice again.

"We're really sorry...we thought you'd gone home and we had to..talk about something" She blushed "...and we didn't have anywhere else to go"

Santana raised her eyebrows

"Right...well I take it you've finished...talking..?"

Finally Quinn looked up, her eyes still frightened.

"Are you going to tell Principal Figgins about this?"

Santana frowned,

"No, of course not"

The blonde girl looked doubtful,

"Ms. Lopez..my parents..if they find out about this.."

"Quinn..I wouldn't.."

Santana stopped to consider her words, wanting to make sure she left the girl in no uncertainty as to what she meant.

"Quinn, I don't care that you were kissing...obviously I would rather you didn't do it in my classroom, but it doesnt bother me at all that it was with Rachel."

"I'm not gay"

Santana nodded gently

"Ok..but..I really hope you know that it wouldn't matter if you were..not to me anyway"

Quinn took a deep breath, finally seeming convinced that Santana wasn't angry.

"..you really won't tell anyone at all about this?..not even Mr Schuester?"

Santana smiled reassuringly

"I promise"

There was a silence as the two girls looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

Santana laughed "I'm not going to tell you off, you can go...but if you do ever want to talk about this, I'm always here ok?..For anything"

Rachel smiled gratefully and they picked up their bags before moving to go, the brunette reaching to gently take the blonde's hand as they reached the door. Santana held it open as they left, adding in a low voice as they stepped into the hallway.

"Oh, and girls?...The only day I ever go home before 3.00pm is on a Tuesday"

She paused

"So in case you do need to have another 'talk' or anything any time soon...try and do it then ok?"

Quinn's cheeks flamed red again but Rachel let out a small giggle and nodded, embarrassed, but relieved that Santana was so relaxed about it.

"Thanks Ms. Lopez"

Santana smiled, suddenly feeling a rush of fondess for the petite brunette in front of her.

"No problem...I'll see you two tomorrow ok?"

The girls set off down the hall hand in hand and Santana watched them go, smiling as Rachel put her arm protectively around the blonde's shoulders and telling herself so firmly that she almost believed it, that the pangs in her chest were happiness, and absolutely definitely not jealousy.

...

girlscoutnaya. tumblr. com **- I've set up a tumblr for this fanfiction so you can have a idea of when I'll be updating, and so I can reply to reviews, and I might do previews or something if it's going to be, another, really late update etc so go and follow if ya like. I'd appreciate it ;)**

**This chapter isn't very long, sorry about that, and it's definitely not my best. And the whole Faberry thing got out of hand to be honest, but I decided to keep it, I hope you like. It isn't going to be a massive part of the story, I don't think, so don't worry if you don't like it so much, I just love Rachel and Quinn together. **

**Also, don't freak, Brittana get together soon, I promise.**

**I'm still dead from 'Heart'. Best episode ever.**

**Anyway, your reviews make me feel like I'm actually doing something good, rather than wasting my time writing soft porn, so thank you. You're all so sweet. **

**Hope you enjoy**

**x**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"-he might even ask you to prom. Do you think you would say yes if he did? I think it would be really cute, you would look so good together. But do you like him? You've never said anything, in fact I always thought you liked...Brittany?"

Mercedes sighed heavily at the blonde opposite her, who sat absentmindedly playing with the straw in her empty carton of apple juice. Clearly she wasn't paying attention.

"Brittany..."

She picked up a grape from the tray in front of her and threw it at the cheerleader who barely reacted, staring with vague surprise at the piece of fruit as it bounced from her shoulder and landed on the table, but seeming unable to summon any more interest than that.

Mercedes watched her with a frown before leaning forward and raising her voice slightly.

"Brittany, what's wrong with you? Are you listening at all?"

Reluctantly the blonde lifted her eyes, dragging her thoughts back to the conversation they'd been having and trying to remember what it had been about. Sam was it? Something about Sam? Or Quinn maybe, Quinn and Puck? She wasn't sure.

She'd been preoccupied. Thinking about Santana. Again.

Thoughts of her teacher were all that seemed to be in her head these days and she was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything else. It had been exactly 2 weeks since she had stormed out of the woman's car and they still hadn't spoken, not properly. It remained awkward and uncomfortable whenever they saw each other, Brittany stayed silent in lessons and Santana seemed to be making a point of not calling on her for answers. And it wasn't like they ever ran into each other anywhere else, there was no reason for them to see each other at all outside of lessons, and with a rush of sadness Brittany realised this was probably how things would stay until the end of the year. Then she would go off to college, maybe, if she got accepted anywhere, and Santana would go off to teach somewhere else, and that would be it. They wouldn't ever see each other again.

The thought made Brittany's chest hurt so she pushed it from her head, turning in her chair to drop the empty juice carton in the bin behind her and then moving back to face Mercedes, determined to keep focus this time.

"Sorry...you were talking about...Quinn, or Sam or something?..carry on"

Mercedes raised her eyebrows,

"You didn't hear a single word that I said did you?"

Brittany hesitated before realising there was no way out of it and shook her head guiltily.

"Sorry..I'm just kind of tired, I keep zoning out"

Mercedes smiled understandingly,

"Nervous about regionals?"

Brittany nodded, despite it being untrue, and Mercedes offered a sympathetic "Same" in return before looking up and addressing a loud greeting to their friends over the girl's shoulder.

"Hey!..guys,over here"

She waited until they came closer before telling them with a nervous smile,

"We're talking about Regionals"

Puck looked down at her,

"So you've heard then?"

"...heard what?"

Grinning, he set his tray down with an unecessarily loud bang and slid into the seat next to Brittany, reaching across to take a french fry from her plate and shoving it unceremoniously in his mouth before he began.

"Puck?..Heard what?"

Quinn, Tina and Kurt sat down less dramatically in the remaining chairs and everyone stared at him questioningly, waiting for him to share whatever news he seemed to have found out. He took a swig from his can of coke before answering, enjoying the suspense he had created.

Mercedes sighed,

"Puck, stop being a fool, just tell us"

"Ok, you're gonna love this...guess who is coming to regionals with us? To help Mr Schue"

Quinn rolled her eyes and speared a lettuce leaf with her fork, obviously unimpressed

"That isn't news Puck. We all know Ms. Pillsbury is coming. She came last year and I guess she'll go every year whilst she's still in love with Mr Schuester, we all knew that already...God, you're such an idiot"

Puck shot her a look of annoyance,

"Why would I be excited if it was Ms. Pillsbury? Obviously I don't mean her Quinn, or I wouldn't be making a big deal about it..."

He sighed as though this was obvious,

"and you say I'm the idiot"

She pulled a face at him but he ignored it, looking back around the table with barely contained excitement.

"Ms. Pillsbury isn't coming this year cause she has to go and see her brother or something, but we get someone even better. And not just for Regionals either, apparently she's coming to help run Glee for the whole rest of the year..."

He paused for dramatic effect, giving them all the opportunity to guess before saying the name slowly and deliberately, raising both fists in the air in a gesture of success.

"Ms. Lopez"

Kurt's face broke into a delighted smile and he turned to Tina and Mercedes who laughed at his excited squeal, both girls pleasantly surprised but not massively bothered about the news, having never properly met the teacher. Quinn just rolled her eyes again, seemingly bored by Puck's obvious infatuation.

On his other side however, Brittany seemed to be having trouble breathing, her jaw dropping in surprise, and when she spoke it was quiet, choked.

"..Seriously?"

Puck nodded, not seeming to notice the dramatic effect the news seemed to be having on the girl, and carried on.

"Yep. It's definite. I overheard Mr. Schue talking to Coach Beiste in the changing rooms and he said that he asked her before Christmas if she would help out with Glee and she said yes. Apparently she was meant to start coming to our rehearsals and stuff at the start of term but she's been really busy so she couldn't help out till now, but she's definitely coming to regionals this weekend. For the whole trip. She's staying in the hotel with us and everything"

They began to chatter amongst themselves, Tina and Mercedes asking questions about Ms. Lopez whilst Kurt and Puck became the unofficial authorities on the teacher, none of them paying attention to their friend staring worriedly down at her lunch.

Feeling someone nudge her arm, Brittany looked up to find Quinn staring at her questioningly.

"You ok?"

She nodded quickly, pushing her lips upwards into an unrealistic smile and trying to focus on her salad.

"Yeah, I'm fine"

...

**_7.30am - Regionals Weekend_**

"Good Morning Ms. Lopez"

Santana pulled her neat, black suitcase behind her, locking the car over her shoulder and advancing towards Will, who stood smiling by the open bus doors as she approached.

"Hey Will. How long have you been here?"

He pushed up the sleeve of his coat, tipping his wrist to the side to see the watch face which glinted in the early morning sun.

"About 10 minutes"

He rubbed his hands together to warm them up a little in the cold air.

"I like to get here early"

Santana nodded, coming to a stop just in front of him.

"No kids here yet?"

He shook his head,

"Not yet...here let me get those for you"

He moved forward to pick up her bags, the bus driver appearing from around the side of the bus to help load them into the storage unit. When they were safey stacked in the corner of the compartment, the driver climbed aboard and Will turned back to Santana, suddenly seeming to notice her properly.

"Hey, you look amazing"

She laughed, flattered, and gave a light shrug.

"Well, it is regionals. I made an effort"

Will nodded, dragging his eyes back up to her face.

"You certainly did"

Santana smirked and looked down at herself, knowing she looked good. Instead of her usual suit, she had chosen to wear her Chanel shift dress for the occasion, black, tight, cut just above the knee. Her trademark heels were the usual black, 4 inches, but Louboutins this time, the bright scarlet sole just visible as she turned to the side.

Her hair was down as she preferred it, loosely curled and pinned away from her face, similiar to how she had worn it on New Years Eve with jet black waves cascading over her shoulders.

She was beautiful, even more so than usual.

She was just about to comment on Will's choice of outfit for the competition, to compliment him on resisting the temptation of one of his many sweater vests for a rather more attractive black suit, when a car pulled up behind them, 3 students getting out.

"Ms. Lopez!"

A beaming Rachel Berry was suddenly advancing towards them, dragging an unecessarily large holdall behind her whilst Kurt and Blaine waved goodbye to Burt Hummell as he drove away.

"Hi Rachel"

The brunette stopped in front of her, seeming to have forgotten her embarrassment from the last time they saw each other and smiling widely.

"Well I must say, this is a lovely surprise. I'll admit I had heard some rumours circulating that you were to replace Ms. Pillsbury in her role as 'Glee Club helper' for the duration of the Regionals trip, but, given the source of the information, I had assumed it to be false."

She delightedly gestured to Santana with both hands.

"But here you are"

Santana laughed,

"Yes, here I am"

Kurt and Blaine had arrived beside them, both seeming pleased, if not quite as excited as Rachel, at Santana's presence.

"Hey Ms. Lopez, Mr Schuester"

"Hey guys, how are you? Nervous?"

The trio nodded and Blaine stifled a yawn,

"I barely slept"

Another car pulling up caught their attention and Santana turned around to see Quinn's shiny new jeep slow to a stop behind them. After a few seconds all four doors opened and two blonde cheerleaders emerged, closely followed by 2 other girls Santana vaguely recognised but didn't know by name.

Will stepped forward to take their bags as they approached.

"How are you feeling this morning girls? Excited?"

They nodded half heartedly, still half asleep and moved towards the others as he loaded their cases into the coach, only Brittany looking a little wary when she spotted Santana who was watching them approach.

"Hi Quinn"

"Hi Ms. Lopez"

Quinn gave her a small smile, her eyes flicking nervously to Rachel and then back to the teacher, a faint blush on her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.

Santana hesitated before acknowledging the other blonde, trying to make her tone casual as she forced the words out.

"...Morning Brittany"

After a brief pause Santana followed the greeting with a shy smile, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and feeling extreme relief when the girl mirrored her expression rather than ignoring her, like she had been dreading.

She held the gaze for a moment longer before turning to the other girls with a smile.

"Hi..I'm sorry I don't know your names, I'm Ms. Lopez"

Mercedes and Tina introduced themselves whilst the others started to pile onto the bus, Puck, Sam and Mike arriving just as Quinn and Brittany had settled at the back.

Puck slid into the seat next to Quinn with a grin, leaning in as though he were about to press his lips against hers.

"Good Morning..."

She sighed, pushing his face away and turning hers away to the side,

"Don't Puck"

"Huh? What's the problem?..I cant kiss you any more?"

Quinn pulled a face, making a show of getting up and moving to sit on Brittany's other side.

"I'm so not in the mood for you today Puckerman"

He shrugged in obvious bewilderment, sitting back in his seat and turning to mutter sarcastically,

"My prom date ladies and gentlemen...lucky me"

Quinn pretended not to hear him, instead glaring out of the window as Brittany looked between the two of them with raised eyebrows, the others smirking.

At the front of the coach the rest of the club had just finished arriving and climbed onto the bus with Sugar the last to get on, hauling an oversized leopard print handbag along with her.

When everyone was present, the two teachers also climbed aboard, Santana's eyes nervously connecting with Brittany's for a fleeting second before she tore her gaze away, sitting down hurriedly at the front. Will slid into the seat next to her as the doors shut and turned around with a grin as he addressed the entire bus, a sense of building excitement and nerves already palpable in the air.

"Regionals..here we come"

...

**_9.30am _**

They made it to the hotel in good time and Will assembled all the students in the lobby for a quick debriefing before handing out the keys to their rooms. He held a clipboard in his hands and he stared down at it in concentration before speaking.

"Right, we'll sort out rooms in a minute, but first I'm going to give you all an itinerary so you know where you have to be and at what times over today and tomorrow"

He pulled a sheaf of papers from under the top sheet and handed them to Rachel to pass around.

"After you get your keys you can all take your stuff upstairs and then you'll have about half an hour before our first rehearsal."

He looked around the room before pointing to a set of double doors on his left, a large sign reading 'Show Choir Regional Competition 2012' on a stand in front.

"Ok, so the stage must be through there and that's where we'll meet at..."

He checked his watch,

"10am...now, you can take your costumes and make up etc backstage beforehand if you like so it's all ready for the performance, but right now the other club are rehearsing so you won't be allowed in for another half an hour or so...actually you may as well just go to your rooms for that time, but whatever you want to do is fine"

He took a breath,

"Everyone with me so far?.."

The Glee club nodded, surprisingly attentive

"Great. Ok, so let's work out where everyone is going. We have 7 rooms and I have a list here of who I thought might like to share, but it isn't set in stone. I don't mind you swapping around as long as everyone sticks to the rules"

Puck raised his hand, smirking

"Can I stay in Quinn's room?"

Will looked at him with a unamused smile

"Even if Quinn wanted to, which, judging by her reaction she does not, I think you know my answer would have to be no"

Puck shrugged,

"Her loss"

"Yes ok, thank you Puck, you have actually highlighted one of the rules but let's try to stay on topic, yeah?...So, as Puck has demonstrated, no boys and girls together please.."

He directed a sympathetic smile towards Kurt and Blaine who stood hand in hand to his right.

"And no couples I'm afraid"

Blaine frowned in disappointment and Kurt rubbed his arm comfortingly,

"Who am I going to share with then?"

Will looked down at his list.

"Well, I thought you might share with Puck..and Kurt with Finn, is that ok with you all?"

The four boys seemed to deem that acceptable, Finn leaning forward to high five Kurt and Will stepped forward to hand them their keys.

"...So that leaves Mike, Sam and Artie to stay in the bigger room"

They all seemed happy enough about that and Will smiled, pleased things were going smoothly.

"Ok, Girls..."

He looked down again at his list of names.

"I was thinking, Sugar and Tina in one room, Mercedes and Brittany in another, which leaves Qu-"

"Quinn and I together?" Rachel interrupted, her voice even higher than usual.

Will paused.

"That's alright isn't it?..You two are friends, right?"

Quinn nodded quickly, trying to avoid looking at Ms. Lopez, whose eyebrows had raised the minute Will suggested the two share a room.

"Yes, that's fine Mr Schue, I'm sure we'll be fine"

He nodded, handing them the key and tucking his clipboard back into his bag.

"Great. That's everyone sorted then."

He turned to gesture at Santana who had been standing quietly beside him for the duration of his speech, her gaze fixed on her nails as she tried to avoid looking at Brittany.

"Obviously we will be on the same corridor, I will be in no.22 and Ms. Lopez will be in 24, so if you need anything just come and find us"

She looked up to smile in agreement at his words and Will gave a short nod to all the students, picking up his bag as they started to leave.

"Ok, you can go, go unpack your stuff, relax for 20 minutes and we'll see you all for rehearsals at 10am...and guys?"

He smiled

"Bring your A game"

...

**_7.30pm - Backstage_**

"Are you ready?"

"I'm really nervous"

"I feel like I'm going to be sick"

Brittany frowned,

"Same, I feel awful"

Rachel put a comforting arm round her and attempted an encouraging smile.

"I know, but we've rehearsed all day, the songs are perfect, I really think we'll win"

Mercedes groaned

"Don't say that, that makes me even more nervous"

"No, I think she's right"

They turned to look at Quinn who was smoothing her hair out nervously.

"We've worked hard for this, we deserve it"

Puck slung his arm around the blonde's shoulder, barely noticing when as usual she shook it off impatiently.

"Exactly, come on, we can win this"

Finn stood nervously beside him, nodding in an attempt to convince himself more than anyone else.

"Yeah, I think we can"

Quinn leaned around Rachel and bent next to an increasingly pale looking Brittany, gently squeezing her arm.

"Are you alright?"

The blonde closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath, her brow creasing as she nodded.

"I think so. I'm just nervous I guess"

"Yeah, me too"

On the stage to the side of them, the first Glee club's performance was coming to an end and the New Directions looked around at each other nervously. Will and Santana, who had been speaking quietly a few metres away, came over, Will looking excited.

"Is everyone ready?"

Rachel nodded, looking around at the anxious faces of her friends and deciding to answer for them.

"Although a little apprehensive, yes, I think we are all ready to perform. And can I just say, I have a very good feeling about this year, I really think we can do this"

Will smiled,

"Rachel's right, you can do this, your songs are great, you've never been so well prepared..I think this could be it"

The Adams County Christian Glee Club left the stage and Will ushered the students closer to the curtains, Santana suddenly finding herself at the back of the group next to Brittany.

She turned her head, her eyes flicking nervously to the girl's face.

"...Good luck"

Brittany looked up, not having noticed the teacher standing there until she spoke and Santana noticed with some concern how pale she was.

"Brittany, are you ok?"

The blonde nodded, Santana's gentle tone making her her heart flutter despite the nerves in her stomach, and smoothed her dress out, her hands trembling.

"I'm just a little nervous"

Santana nodded understandingly, adding with a shy smile,

"I'm sure you'll be great"

Brittany tried to smile back but even her head was starting to ache and the expression didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Thanks"

Santana opened her mouth to say something further but a loud voice boomed out from the speakers overhead, capturing everyone's attention. The stage curtain had been lifted, and the music for their opening song could just be heard over the announcement.

"And now..from Lima's William McKinley High School..._The New Directions_"

After a quick thumbs up from Will, the students bounded out onto the stage, Brittany turning for just a second to look at Santana who gave her an encouraging smile as she rushed out to take her position.

Will reached over to pull Santana next to him, their shoulders brushing against the curtains.

"Do you think they can win?"

She nodded, squeezing his arm with a confident smile,

"Of course they'll win"

...

**_8.30pm_**

The performance had gone well, extremely well in fact and as they waited on the stage an hour later for the results to be announced, amid the nerves and worry that they might not make it to Nationals, was a feeling that they had at least done the very best they could.

Rachel's voice had been amazing, easily better than the other club's lead vocalists and the dancing had been perfect, Will thinking again how grateful he was to have such brilliant choreographers as Mike and Brittany.

The songs were well chosen and even Santana couldn't help but marvel again at how talented the group was. Her eyes had remained mainly on Brittany throughout the performance, who had danced brilliantly although perhaps a little less energetically than usual. However when she had occasionally let her gaze wander to the other students to see the full performance, she felt sure that their Glee club was the best out of the three.

On the stage third place had just been announced and Santana watched anxiously with Will as the Jefferson High School Glee club went up to collect their trophy.

"And now...the winner of the Ohio Show Choir Regional competition, going through to compete at Nationals in New York..."

The head judge opened the envelope with the winner's name painfully slowly and Santana couldn't take her eyes from Brittany's face, wanting so much for her to win, to see her happy.

The piece of paper was finally in his hand and he cleared his throat loudly, reading the name with a pleased smile.

"...From Lima's William McKinley High School.._The New Directions!"_

The applause from the audience was thunderous and Santana suddenly felt herself pulled into a celebratory hug with Will, her eyes torn away from Brittany as he threw his arms around her shouting.

"They won! We're going to Nationals"

She laughed as he span her around, the force of her own happiness surprising her and when he pulled back, leaving one arm around her, she looked up at him with a smile.

"I'm really glad you asked me to do this"

He grinned back at her,

"I'm really glad you agreed"

On the stage, the Glee Clubs were taking final bows, the head judge clapping enthusiastically. He gestured to where Rachel and Finn stood in front of the others, holding the trophy aloft.

"The New Directions everybody..."

They left the stage to more applause, still cheering and laughing noisily as they disappeared into the wings where their teacher's were waiting.

Rachel threw herself into Santana's arms, surprising the woman, who almost fell backwards as the brunette barrelled into her.

"We won Ms. Lopez, we won! We're going to New York!"

"I know" answered Santana laughing, pulling back but keeping one arm around the girl's shoulders as the other students swarmed around her, their faces flushed and happy

"You were amazing"

"We _were_ amazing"

Mercedes agreed, beaming and lifting the trophy to loud cheers from the others,

"And we're taking it all the way to Nationals!"

The students were uncontrollable, shouting and laughing as they passed the trophy between them, Will trying to make his voice heard over the noise.

"Guys, guys! We're all really happy but be quiet for a second, shh for a minute, I just want to say something...Hey Puck, put Quinn down...thank you..ok, quiet.."

He waited for the noise to quiet into a low, excited buzz before he spoke, a happy grin on his face as he addressed his students.

"Ok, first off, I just want to say how proud I am of you all. You were great today and you deserve that place at nationals. You worked hard, and it paid off...You were amazing"

His words were met with raucous applause and he clapped along, allowing them this outburst for a few seconds before motioning once again for quiet.

"So, as a well done, and to show you how much I appreciate all your hard work...I want to take you all out for dinner tonight"

More excited cheers at his announcement.

"I've made a reservation for 9.30" He checked his watch "So we've got about half an hour till the coach comes and picks us up"

Will grinned, leaning forward to take the trophy from Blaine and holding it above his head in victory.

"And we'll put this in the middle of the table!...now come on, go get ready. We'll all meet in the lobby in 20 minutes"

The kids began to leave noisily, carrying a loud buzz of excitement with them as Santana and Will watched, laughing as Puck tried to lift a protesting Kurt into the air, quickly buckling under the furiously wriggling boy's weight.

"Umm...Mr Schue?"

Both teachers turned at the voice, surprised to see a white faced Brittany standing by the stage entrance, where she had remained unnoticed in all the excitement.

"Brittany? What's the matter? Are you feeling alright?"

The blonde shook her head, lips pressed together as she lifted a shaky hand to push her hair from her face.

Will rushed towards her, Santana staying too but hanging back as the last of the Glee club went off to their rooms to get ready.

"What's wrong?"

Brittany shook her head again, her voice coming out in a low whisper as her skin took on an even paler hue.

"I'm not sure. I feel kind of sick, and shivery. I think I need to go to bed"

"Oh Brittany, how long have you been feeling like this?"

"Umm, I guess since we got to the hotel...but it started to get really bad just now, during our last song"

"Oh no" Will shoulders slumped in disappointment for her "I guess you'll have to miss the dinner tonight, you won't be able to celebrate with everyone else"

He put his arm round her shoulders comfortingly.

"Do you definitley not feel well enough to go?"

The blonde paused to consider for a second before replying sadly with a soft

"I don't think so"

Will sighed, patting her back with a nod of understanding and turning to Santana.

"What should we do?"

It took great restraint not to push forward and pull Brittany into her arms, but Santana managed to walk over in a controlled way, an expression of appropriate concern masking the genuine worry she was feeling.

"Well one of us has to stay at the hotel"

"Yes, of course. We can't leave her."

Will rubbed a hand along his jaw thoughtfully and regarded the cheerleader.

"Brittany, do you think you're going to be sick?"

She nodded slowly

"I think so"

He turned back to Santana,

"We better sort this out quickly. I'm sure she doesn't want to throw up right here"

Santana nodded, nerves curling in her stomach as she sensed the inevitable conclusion of this conversation.

Taking a deep breath she decided to make it easy for Will and suggest the obvious solution.

"Well, clearly one of us has to stay with Brittany...and you can't do it because you organised this whole dinner, and you're the head of Glee club, the kids would want you to be there"

She swallowed nervously

"So, I'll stay"

Will looked troubled

"You don't mind?"

Santana shook her head, the movement making her feel a little dizzy.

"Of course not"

"I feel bad"

"No Will, it's fine"

He seemed to consider it for a second before nodding,

"Well, to be honest, it's probably the only solution anyway"

He turned back to look at Brittany, who seemed to flagging further by the minute.

"I think she might need to some help getting to bed..and well..."

He gestured to himself to highlight the obvious problem,

"..I'm not it would really be appropriate for me to do that"

Santana felt her cheeks getting hot as she nodded in agreement.

"No, I guess not"

He paused, thoughtful.

"So...how are you going to do this? Are you gonna take her back to your room so you can keep an eye on her?...Or are you going to help her to bed in her room, and then wait till we get back?..."

He stopped to consider the best course of action, turning to the brunette as an idea occured to him.

"Actually...do you think it might be easier if she just stayed in your room for the night?"

Santana's expression was unreadable. Her eyes flicked nervously to Brittany who seemed to be too busy not vomiting all over the floor to pay attention to the conversation. She took a breath before answering.

"...I suppose that makes sense"

Will noticed the hesitance in her voice and mistaking the reason, tried to reassure her.

"It's probably food poisioning, I doubt it's contagious"

"Yeah I'm sure you're right..."

"So..shall we do that then?"

Santana nodded,

"Yes, Ok...I'll take her up now, you need to go and meet the coach."

She reached forward to replace Will's arm around the girl's shoulder with her own and led her through the wings and out towards the double doors that opened on the hotel lobby. Will walked with them until they reached the elevator, patting Brittany gently on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile as the lift doors slid open.

"I really hope you feel better. It won't be the same without you"

The cheerleader smiled weakly back,

"Thanks"

He turned to Santana,

"Ring me if you need any help, and keep your phone on you so I can text later to make sure everything is ok"

She nodded,

"Everything will be fine, don't worry"

He put a hand on her arm, a grateful smile

"Thanks for this Santana"

She nodded, inhaling shakily with a tight smile

"Go have fun, you deserve it"

...

She pushed the door open and led the girl into the room, taking her over to the spare bed and sitting her down gently.

"Ok, I'm just going to go and get your stuff from the other room. I'll be a few minutes. Why don't you go get ready and then I'll bring your PJ's and you can get into bed? There's make up wipes and moisturiser in the bathroom..you can help yourself"

Brittany nodded, shivering slightly and got shakily to her feet to use the en suite as Santana slipped out of the room, walking swiftly down the corridor and knocking loudly on number 7.

After a few seconds it was opened by a smiling Mercedes, her expression faltering a little when she saw who it was. She stepped back to allow the teacher into the empty room.

"Oh, Ms. Lopez, I thought you were Brittany. I thought she'd have come back here to get ready but she must have gone to Quinn's room"

"Actually Brittany is in my room. She's not feeling very well so I think she's just going to stay here while you all go out."

Mercedes face fell,

"Oh no, really? She said wasn't feeling so good earlier but I thought it was just nerves. Is she alright?"

Santana nodded distractedly, her eyes searching the room for Brittany's bag so she could get back to her quickly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine Mercedes. I actually just came to get her stuff. She's staying in my room tonight so I can make sure she's ok, so I'll need pajamas and her toothbrush and- actually you may as well just give me her whole bag"

The girl nodded, still looking worried and crossed the room to the bed in the corner, reaching down the side of it and pulling a William McKinley Cheerios duffel bag back with her to hand to Santana.

"She hadn't unpacked her toothbrush or anything yet, it should all be in there"

Santana took it from her with a grateful smile,

"Thank you...oh, and well done for today, you were great"

"Thanks Ms. Lopez. It's a shame you and Brittany can't come to dinner with us"

Santana nodded in agreement, barely paying attention to the conversation in her haste to get back to Brittany.

"Well I hope you all have fun"

Santana walked out of the door, holding the surprisingly heavy bag to her chest and turning with a quick smile and 'good night' before heading back to her room.

The bathroom door was closed as she entered so she placed the bag at the foot of Brittany's bed and went over to stand in front of it, calling quietly to the girl inside.

"Brittany?...Are you ok?"

When no reply came, she knocked softly and spoke a little louder.

"Brittany?"

This time the answering silence sent a shiver of panic down her spine and she put her hand on the door, deciding to open it if the girl didn't answer again.

"Brittany?...Is everything alright?"

She waited 2 seconds before pushing down on the handle and swinging it open, her pulse racing as images of Brittany unconscious ran through her mind.

Sprawled on the floor in front of her sat the cheerleader, her head hanging over the toilet bowl as she was violently sick again, one hand propped against the wall for balance and the other trying unsuccessfully to pin her hair back from her mouth as it swung carelessly around her face.

Santana, feeling a wave of intense relief that the girl hadn't passed out or anything more serious, rushed forward to help, sweeping the blonde hair away from the path of vomit and into the safety of her hands. Suddenly noticing the gentle fingers brushing against her neck, Brittany turned with a gasp of surprise, recoiling backwards when she saw Santana.

"Oh my God...please...get out..you can't see this...please, I'm being sick...it's so...so disgusting"

She weakly tried to grasp her hair back, her fingers colliding ineffectively with Santana's before falling limply onto the seat as another wave of naseau overcame her and she threw up again, her protests lost. Santana tried to reassure her, her voice firm.

"Brittany, don't be so ridiculous, it's fine"

Santana pushed the fallen strands back into the ponytail she was securing with her hand and bent down, sitting to the side of the girl on the cold tile floor so she could hold her hair more comfortably.

"I don't mind at all...I want to help"

The sickness seemed to subside for a second and Brittany pleaded with her, her hands tugging at Santana's wrists to release her hair.

"No..please..just..I don't want...you don't have to..."

But the brunette just shook her head, taking Brittany's hand in her own and squeezing it gently.

"Brittany...I'm not leaving"

With a quiet sigh the blonde seemed to grudgingly accept that she didn't have a choice and she let her arm drop back down, resting her head wearily across it with her eyes closed, embarrassed, but too weak to protest further.

Santana watched her silently, her eyes soft as she stared at the faint frown etched into Brittany's face, her perfect lips pulled down slightly at the corners in discomfort. The girl was breathing quietly, shallow inhalations that lifted her chest a millimetre upwards, bringing it back down again as the soft whoosh of air was released. It was mesmerising, just to watch her rest, and Santana stared intently, her eyes studying each part of Brittany's face, searching for something, some kind of explanation, trying to work out what made her so captivating but eventually deciding that it wasn't something she could put words to.

Brittany was just, Brittany.

After what felt like long enough, Santana slowly got to her feet, gently pulling Brittany up with her. The girl's eyes fluttered open and she frowned sleepily.

"What are yo...why..where are.."

Santana shushed her gently and took her over to the sink where she helped her to brush her teeth, afterwards filling a paper cup and holding it to the blonde's mouth.

"Let's go and find your pajamas ok? Then you can go to sleep"

Brittany mumbled a reply as she sipped at the water, her eyes still half closed.

When she'd had enough, Santana pulled the blonde's arm over her shoulder and wrapped her's around the girl's waist, leading her carefully out into the bedroom. She took her over to the bed and lay her down over the duvet.

"Ok, let's get this off.."

She stopped.

Suddenly realising how difficult, and inappropriate, getting the girl out of her dress would be, Santana bent towards Brittany and asked quietly,

"Actually...do you want to just go to sleep in what you have on?"

Brittany forced her eyes open to look up at Santana standing over her and shook her head faintly.

"I need pajamas..dress is uncomfortable"

Santana took a deep breath before nodding and reaching for the duffel bag by the bed. She reached in and started pulling out clothes, finding a dress, a bra and a pair of socks before she managed to locate an old football jersey which she assumed was what she was looking for. She turned back to Brittany and held it up.

"This it?"

The blonde stared at the piece of clothing through half lidded eyes before nodding blearily and closing them again.

"Right, ok...well..."

Santana returned to the side of the bed and stood holding the jersey uncertainly in one hand, unsure of what to do next.

"Brittany..I...could you please help take your dress off?..."

The words rushed out, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

The cheerleader moaned, disoriented and desperate to just sleep, but she obliged, keeping her tired eyes closed but taking off the outfit herself. She reached a hand lazily up to the straps on her shoulders and dragged them off, pulling her arms through and then tugging the dress down over her chest and waist, kicking it off of her legs until she was covered only by her underwear.

Her skin was creamy and smooth, long, firm legs that seemed to go on forever and a flat, toned stomach that could have been an advertisement for the benefit of Coach Sylvester's extreme excercise regime. Every muscle on her body was defined, carved perfectly, beautifully. It was the body of an athlete, and Santana had to tear her eyes away as the dress was discarded on the floor, holding out the jersey with one hand whilst she kept her gaze on the floor.

"Can you get this on yourself or...?"

Brittany didn't reply, her hazy mind focusing instead on travelling her hands back up her stomach to take off her strapless bra, the fastening digging uncomfortably into her back. Turning back, Santana saw what she was doing and reached out hurriedly to stop her, eyes wide in panic.

"Brittany, wait...put this on first"

She bent forward to kneel beside the girl's bed and helped the nightshirt over her head, gently tugging her arms through the holes and then pulling the bunched material to her waist. Reaching underneath her, Santana pulled the cover down, nudging Brittany's legs to the side before tucking her in.

"..is that better?"

A mumbled reply which Santana took as a yes.

"Ok, well, I'll turn the light out now...I'm just going to get ready in the bathroom, and then i'll be in the bed just over there, so if you need anything..."

She let the sentence tail off, realising Brittany was probably drifting into sleep anyway and flicked the light switch to dim, gathering her pajamas from her bag and taking them into the en suite.

She got changed and brushed her teeth, carefully wiping off her make up and pulling her hair into a high ponytail before going back into the bedroom to turn the lights off completley. She made her way carefully over to her bed and climbed under the covers, retrieving her phone from her bag as she went.

She had a text from Will which she answered straight away, reassuring him that Brittany was ok and had just gone to sleep. She assured him that no, he didn't need to drop by the room later to check they were alright and signed off with a 'Goodnight, see you in the morning' hoping that would be enough to stop him keeping her up all night with worried texts. She set the alarm for 7.00 and then briefly scrolled through her emails, too tired to read them all properly but just making sure there was nothing urgent.

3rd from the top of the screen, an email address caught her eye and she clicked to check she had read it right.

Mark? Why was he emailing her?

She frowned at the screen.

The last time she had spoken to Mark was months ago, just before that nightmare of an interview with the mayor. He had called her constantly afterwards but she had ignored every attempt at contact, hurt and angry, believing him to have been partly at fault for what had happened.

With hindsight she had realised that it probably wasn't his fault, as even if he had been the one to tell the mayor certain things about herself that she would rather have kept a secret, he couldn't really be blamed for the way that information had been used. But she had never got around to returning his calls, still mortified over the whole thing.

And it had been over 6 months ago, did he still want to apologise? Is that why he was emailing her?

She clicked on the message, curious as to what he could possibly be contacting her about, and skimmed through the block of text with ever growing interest, a quiet gasp escaping her when she fully comprehended what it was about.

She scrolled back to the top of the email, hardly believing what was written there and read it through again, her eyes wide in the phone's reflected light.

"Oh my God.." she whispered, a delighted smile spreading over her face as she checked for a 3rd and a 4th time that it really said what she thought it said.

Lifting her head from the pillow she felt a sudden desire to wake up Brittany but she stopped herself straight away, of course she couldn't do that, it probably wouldn't be very interesting to the girl anyway, even if she didn't mind being woken up.

_Stupid idea_ she told herself, placing the phone on the cabinet beside her and curling up comfortably under the sheets.

But still, as she settled back against her pillow, the feeling of apprehensive excitement settled warmly inside her and a happy smile played on her lips, carrying her peacefully into sleep as the words from Mark's email drifted hazily around her mind.

...

**_2.30am_**

4 hours later a quiet moan dragged her from sleep and she opened her eyes in confusion, before suddenly remembering where she was and sitting upright, whispering into the darkness.

"Brittany?..What's wrong?"

Another soft whimper was all she got in reply and she climbed out of bed, padding across the room to kneel by the girl's pillow. She reached out her hand and pressed it to Brittany's forehead, her heart rate relaxing a little once she was confident the cheerleader didn't have a fever.

"Brittany..are you awake?"

The blonde replied semi coherently, still half asleep, and Santana had to lean closer to hear.

"Was that a yes?...Are you ok?..Are you going to be sick again?"

Brittany forced her heavy eyes to open and was just able to make out her teacher's face in the darkness. She cleared her throat groggily.

"No..but my head hurts"

Santana stroked the hair gently back from Brittany's face, her fingers tangling in the messy blonde strands.

"Do you want some water?"

Brittany shook her head,

"I'm a bit cold.."

A light shiver ran through her as if to prove her statement.

"Do you have a jumper or anything? In your Cheerios bag?"

"...no"

"Me neither"

Santana paused to think, sleep still clouding her mind.

"I could see if I could find you a blanket or something?"

But Brittany shook her head again,

"It's the middle of the night..."

"Yeah but I'm sure there must be a laundry closet around"

Santana went to straighten up but Brittany reached out a hand, clasping it around her wrist to stop her from moving. In the dark, her eyes were pleading.

"Can't you just..sit with me for a bit?"

"...sit with you?"

Brittany edged herself closer to the wall, leaving a gap on the bed between them which she patted sleepily.

"Here...and then I'll be warmer"

The woman paused, suddenly nervous, and just for a minute it occurred to her that maybe Brittany might not possibly be as unaware as she was making out, but she dismissed the thought guiltily as soon as it entered her head. The girl had been throwing up all night, and now she was barely awake, she probably wasn't even thinking about how inappropriate this was. She was just cold.

So with a calming breath, Santana sat carefully on the edge of the bed, making sure she was on top of the sheets and trying not to flinch when Brittany moved closer. The girl's head came to rest next to her hip on the pillow, blonde hair tickling the exposed skin on her waist and she leant forward to whisper softly.

"I'll just stay until you fall asleep, ok?"

Brittany yawned and nodded, mumbling "Ok"

Santana leant her head on the wall behind her, folding one outstretched leg over the other and leaning forward to pull the material of her pajama shorts down as they rode up slightly over her tanned things.

"...Ms. Lopez?"

She looked down at Brittany in the dark, the blonde's words muffled slightly by the pillow she was laying on.

"Mh hmm?"

"I'm really sorry you had to stay...and that you had to help me when I was sick"

Santana smiled,

"That's ok...I'm glad I stayed"

Brittany frowned, turning onto her back and opening her bleary eyes to stare up at her teacher.

"Why?...You missed the meal and everything"

Santana shrugged,

"I don't care about the meal...I wanted to make sure you were ok"

There was a pause in which Brittany's sleepy mind considered the woman's words, before she sighed heavily and turned her face back to the side. Santana watched her, puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

"...nothing"

"Brittany..what's the matter?"

The blonde kept her eyes shut as she answered, her mind still dazed, half believing this to be a dream.

"You're so confusing"

Santana swallowed, knowing it was unwise to carry the conversation on but unable to stop herself asking,

"...what do you mean?"

"I just..I never know where I am with you...sometimes I feel like...you don't...Oh, I can't explain"

She sighed again, the sound heavy with unhappiness and Santana didn't know what to say. She wanted so badly to put her arms around the cheerleader, to lay down next to her and tell her how sorry she was, to press her lips gently against the blonde's and convince her that of course she cared, she'd always cared. But she couldnt, and it made her heart ache to think about how hard it was becoming to stop herself, so she folded her hands into her lap, lifting her eyes to the ceiling with a shaky breath.

There was a long silence before she said anything.

"...does your head still hurt?"

Brittany shook her head, before realising Santana probably couldn't see the movement and breathing a weary "No" in reply.

"Are you still cold?"

The girl shifted position slightly, her hand accidentally brushing Santana's waist.

"..a little..are you?"

Santana looked down at her, confused.

"Am I cold?"

"Well, you're sitting on top of the sheets..."

"Oh.."

Santana crossed her arms across her chest, her skin a little cold now she was out of her own bed but not uncomfortably so. If anything, the slight chill was helpful, keeping her drowsy mind alert as she waited for Brittany to fall back asleep.

"I'm ok"

The blonde yawned again and settled even closer to Santana's side, her forehead no more than an inch away from the strip of exposed olive skin between her teacher's tank top and pajama shorts.

Santana turned her head downwards to look at the girl laying so close to her, watching the gentle swell of her breathing and letting the silence surround her for what felt like a long time before speaking again.

She had so much she wanted to say to Brittany, so many things she needed to tell her but even with the crushing silence laid out before her, it felt like she would never get the chance to say it all.

She wanted to tell her how glad she was that she had been the one to look after her tonight, and how she wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything else if she had known that Brittany was sick and she wasn't there.

She wanted to tell her how happy she had felt seeing her perform that day, how inexplicably proud she had felt watching her dance, like she was a part of the girl's phenomenal talent just through being there.

She wanted to tell her about the email she had read earlier that night, how scary and exciting the news was, how she was the first person she had wanted to share the news with.

She wanted to talk about New Years Eve and how spending the countdown with Brittany had been the best possible start she could ever have imagined for 2012, and how sorry she was for everything that had happened afterwards.

She wanted to tell Brittany how everything she'd said in the car had been a lie, but that she had to do it, that there had never been an alternative, not really, and how painful it felt to know that.

She wanted to tell her how no one had ever made her feel like this way before, so nervous and terrified and exhilaratingly happy all at the same time.

There were so many things.

And she couldn't tell her any of it, it was impossible, and to know that made her feel like something inside of her was breaking. Slowly twisting, vice like around her chest until just to look at Brittany hurt her.

But still, the peaceful quiet urged her on and she felt words form in her mouth, a revised version of everything she really wanted to say hovering on her lips.

She took a deep breath and whispered into the darkness.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry...for what happened the other week"

Silence.

Santana let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at Brittany as she said this.

"When you got out of the car...I didn't want you to get out...I wanted to tell you, I wanted to apologise for what I said...for the way it must have sounded to you...but you left and you were crying...and I just felt..."

She searched for the right word,

"I just felt so...guilty"

Guilty barely covered it, but she had to choose her words carefully.

"And things have been so awkward in class...I hate it...and..I just..."

She took a breath, trying to force the waver from her voice.

"I just wanted to apologise.."

Santana looked down at the blonde next to her whose rythmic breathing sent tiny flutters of warm air against her bare skin, and tried to decide if she was remaining silent out of anger or if she was just thinking of a reply.

"So..are we ok?"

She bent closer to the cheerleader to see her face in the dark, tilting her head to the side and whispering the girl's name to prompt an answer.

"Brittany...?"

She reached out a hand to brush blonde hair gently out of the girl's face and couldn't stop an adoring smile spreading over her lips when she saw the peaceful expression, eyes closed.

Brittany was asleep.

...

**I do not believe how long this chapter turned out. Nearly 10,000 words? It's practically a novella all on its own.**

**I'm sure it's littered with mistakes but I get bored of proof reading, C'est la vie.**

**But I do really hope you like it because it has taken me forever to write and I made it especially long to make up for being so awful at updating regularly. **

**My internet is working again so hopefully the next update won't take as long, you may even get it next week you lucky old things.**

**Anyway, your reviews are beautiful and every time I get one I die of happiness so thank you very much, I really appreciate it.**

**girlscoutnaya . tumblr .com - If you want to follow this fic on tumblr go crazy, treat yourself, you can ask me stuff, or not if you don't want to. The ball is very much in your court.**

**Lots of British love,**

**x**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Brittany stared down at the box in her hands, head tilted to the side, eyes carefully critical and tried to decide again whether it was too much.

She tipped it up, noticing the red silk ribbon was slightly crooked and straightened it with nervous hands, running her finger underneath to pull out the crease and setting it upright again on her palm.

It was cute she told herself. A nice, sweet little gift that clearly said 'Thank you for looking after me whilst I was sick at regionals, I really appreciate you holding my hair whilst I threw up everywhere' and in no way implied anything else apart from a thankful student responding to the innocent kindess of her teacher.

Yes. It was sweet.

She nodded to herself, sweet was fine.

Romantic was not.

The gift wrap had been neatly done by the boy at the store and she wondered now whether she should have asked him to choose a different colour. Suddenly the red paper seemed wrong. What if Santana took it as another unwelcome pass at her? Did most people connect the colour with love? Was it inappropriate? Was it weird that she had only realised now?

_Brittany, stop _she told herself,_ you're being ridiculous. No one could look that deeply at a box of candy. It's fine. Just relax._

Looking down at it nervously clutched in her hands, she took a final deep breath and knocked softly on the classroom door, unable to stop her stomach clenching uncomfortably when a low voice instructed her to come in.

Holding the gift half behind her back in embarrassment, Brittany stepped into the classroom and waited for Santana to look up, smiling shyly when dark eyes met her own.

"Afternoon, Ms. Lopez"

The woman regarded her with surprise but smiled warmly and placed her pen on the desk, the senior test papers she had been marking now forgotten.

"Brittany...hi"

The blonde ran her tongue lightly over her lower lip nervously, before willing herself to move further into the room and explain why she was there, the gift still tucked behind her out of sight.

"I just wanted to come and thank you...for regionals, you know"

Santana nodded slowly, her mouth forming a silent 'oh' as she remembered the last time they had been alone together. Brittany hadn't really been in a state to thank her then, too drowsy to form a coherent sentence, and even when they had left the hotel the next morning she had slept for the whole journey back, so this was the first real opportunity they'd had to talk since.

Brittany continued,

"It was really nice of you to look after me, and I'm kind of embarrassed about being sick and everything-"

Looking down, she scuffed the edge of a pristine white trainer against the floor, unable to make eye contact as her cheeks went pink at the memory,

"-so I wanted to bring you this, just as a kind of thank you..for, you know, being so kind"

Her voice tailed off as she drew her hand from behind her back and advanced forwards, placing the gift wrapped box self consciously on Santana's desk and keeping her gaze low, avoiding eye contact.

There was a short silence in which a surprised but quietly delighted Santana studied the item in front of her, cheeks flushing slightly as she reached to pick it up delicately.

"Brittany, that's..uh..that's really sweet..."

She tailed off as the lid flipped open, revealing a row of decorated chocolate hearts nestled into a red velvet lining, each with an iced message on the top. Her eyes fell on the largest piece in the middle which had the words 'Be Mine' written in careful, red handwriting across it and she swallowed audibly before speaking.

"Umm..Brittany, I'm not really sure if..if these are..well-"

"Oh my God"

The blonde had finally lifted her gaze when the teacher had gone quiet, her own eyes widening in horror when she had seen the heart shaped chocolates and she darted forwards, pushing the lid shut as though it would somehow be easier to explain without the offending candy in plain sight.

"I'm sorry Ms. Lopez I didn't know I had no idea the boy at the shop just said they were chocolates I would never have got those ones if I had known honestly I'm so sorry I really-"

"Brittany"

Santana stared up at the flustered cheerleader with a reassuring smile on her lips, anxious to show her she believed it was an accident and equally anxious to hide her own disappointment that it hadn't been intentional.

"It's fine, don't worry about it"

Brittany's face was still red with embarrassment and she frowned, eyes flicking to the box but Santana forced a light laugh and smiled at the blonde, careful not to make it even more awkward.

"Honestly, it's ok Brittany. It's close to Valentine's day, he must have assumed you were looking for something..." She paused, eyes drifting back to the sheets in front of her as her voice got quieter "..something for your boyfriend"

The blonde hesitated, almost speaking up to assure Santana she didn't have a boyfriend, but then deciding it was unecessary and simply nodding instead.

"Yeah, I guess"

"I'm sure it was an honest mistake"

"..it was..I promise"

Suddenly feeling a little despondent without knowing exactly why, Santana sighed, brushing her finger along the silk ribbon and smiling sadly.

"But thank you anyway...it was really sweet of you"

Brittany shrugged slightly and felt her cheeks go pink again but this time with happiness. She reached her hand up to push a strand of hair behind her ear self consciously, almost whispering her next sentence.

"I just hope you know how much I appreciate you looking after me...because I do, I really do"

"I would have felt awful if I hadn't"

"Well..you made me feel a lot better just being there...so thank you, really"

Santana nodded slowly, her throat dry as she continued to stare at the box of chocolates.

Fragments of sentences, the words she had last said to Brittany flashed into her head and suddenly she wanted to say them again, to make sure they were heard this time, but even before her brain could convince her it wouldn't be the sensible thing to do there was a knock at the door, disturbing the charged silence in the class room and startling them both.

Santana looked up, bewildered for a second before clearing her throat and calling out reluctantly.

"Come in"

The door opened and a grinning Will Schuester appeared from behind it, moving excitedly into the room and managing to stretch the smile even wider when he noticed Brittany by the desk.

"Hey, Brittany, what are you doing here?"

"Oh..uh, I just came to say thank you..you know, for everything that happened at regionals"

"Oh right, of course. Well..I just came to get Ms. Lopez for her first official Glee rehearsal"

He turned, directing a wink at the brunette who had already started to stand up and reach for her bag.

"You ready...?"

Santana forced a smile, carefully pushing the box of candy under a stack of papers as she moved around the desk and hoping Will didn't notice.

"Sure"

"Great..Brittany, you coming?"

The blonde nodded, shooting a quick look at Santana who kept her eyes down.

"I'm coming"

...

"Ok, everyone"

Will clapped his hands together for attention and smiled around the room, waiting for the chatter to die down before he gestured towards Santana who sat on a chair to the side.

"You obviously all remember Ms. Lopez from Regionals"

There was a ripple of acknowledgment as she smiled towards them, her eyes hovering for just a few seconds longer on Brittany, who smiled shyly back at her.

"I am happy to say that this is her first Glee rehearsal, not only as a helper, but as official Co-Director"

At the back of the room Puck highfived a beaming Kurt and Will smiled, raising his eyebrows at Santana before continuing.

"And, that is a role she has kindly agreed to fulfil until the end of the year, so yes Puck and Kurt, you can highfive again, Ms. Lopez will be with us for nationals"

The two boys laughed and Will was about to speak again when a loud voice cut him off, the unmistakable tones of Rachel Berry claiming everyone's attention as she got up to stand in front of the teacher, a wearily patient smile on her face.

"This is great news, and I am just as happy as everyone else that Ms. Lopez will be accompanying us to Nationals-"

She raised her eyebrows pointedly around the room, her expression stern.

"-but, need I remind you that said event is less than 2 months away, and we have barely started brainstorming ideas. As much as a celebratory welcome would be fun in ordinary circumstances, I really think we need to get started"

She finished abruptly, her hands placed decidely on her hips which, given her small frame, gave her the look of an impatient child.

After a short silence Will stepped forward, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder and smirking good naturedly.

"Ok Rachel, maybe you're right"

He clapped his hands together again and gestured to the rest of the students.

"So, does anyone have ideas? Anything prepared to show everyone?..."

As though an idea had struck him he turned to his right to address the blonde boy sitting in the front row, pointing one finger, pistol like in his direction.

"..Sam? Didn't you say you had an idea earlier?"

The boy looked around nervously, getting an encouraging smile from Finn who sat beside him before nodding slowly and clearing his throat to reply.

"Uhm yeah. It's not much though"

Will shook his head,

"Doesn't matter, we just need ideas at this point"

He stepped back, walking over to the empty chair beside Santana and gesturing at the now vacant centre for Sam.

"Go ahead"

"Uhm, ok"

He got up half reluctantly, running a hand through his hair self consciously and making his way to the middle of the room. After picking up an guitar from a stand at the back he stood awkwardly for a moment, his cheeks a little pink, before explaining his song choice to the group who listened politely.

"Uhm, this is a song for..well for someone that I really like..and I've been working on it for a while so I hope it sounds ok...here goes I guess"

Playing a few gentle chords on his guitar for introduction he looked up, smiling shyly and adding, "Hopefully she'll know who she is.." before launching into a soft and somewhat predictable, Santana thought, version of Guns & Roses 'Sweet Child Of Mine'.

He started quietly, his voice pleasant but lacking any real power and Santana guessed from the way he avoided eye contact with the audience, that the lucky girl this was aimed at was either Tina or Mercedes, both of whom sat giggling in the front row.

Whilst he sang she tried to keep her gaze focused, wishing he would do something interesting enough to keep her attention, but despite her attempts she found herself painfully aware of the electric blue eyes staring at her across the room. And keeping her own eyes from flicking towards them was proving impossible.

_She's got a smile it seems to me_

_Reminds me of childhood memories_

_Where everything_

_Was as fresh as the bright blue sky_

_Now and then when I see her face_

_She takes me away to that special place_

_And if I'd stare too long_

_I'd probably break down and cry_

Sam flicked his hair with an elaborate sweep of his head and Santana had to restrain an eye roll.

She almost felt sorry for the girl he was singing this to. It just felt so 'Backstreet Boys', so affected.

Could he seriously be so mistaken as to think this was cute?

Well, she thought, raising one perfectly shaped eyebrow as he thrust his hips at an amused looking Quinn, if he did he was wrong.

_Oh, oh, oh_

_Sweet child o' mine_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh_

_Sweet love of mine_

The song continued, Sam gaining confidence as his friends clapped, singing along, and as he sang the second verse he danced forward, into his audience, and suddenly Santana's heart dropped, snarky inner monologue forgotten.

He had moved around the laughing girls at the front and cut a direct path to the blonde cheerleader sitting in the back seat, oblivious to his actions until he was directly in front of her, smiling at her surprised expression.

Her eyes had still been trained on Santana, who had been shifting uncomfortably in her seat with the overwhelming desire to stare back, so Brittany hadn't noticed his approach. She had barely noticed he was even singing.

But now here he was, standing right there, serenading her in front of everyone, and her mind suddenly travelled back to a conversation last week in the canteen with Mercedes. Hadn't she mentioned something about Sam asking her to prom? Did he like her or something?

Judging by his sudden proximity, it certainly seemed that way.

She looked up into his face, at the coy smile playing on his lips as he sang to her and prayed she was wrong.

_She's got eyes of the bluest skies_

_As if they thought of rain_

_I hate to look into those eyes_

_And see an ounce of pain_

_Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place_

_Where as a child I'd hide_

_And pray for the thunder_

_And the rain_

_To quietly pass me by_

_Oh, oh, oh_

_Sweet child o' mine_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh_

_Sweet love of mine_

He got down on one knee for the final part, taking Brittany's stunned surprise as a good sign and closing his eyes because Finn had instructed him to earlier, with the advice that 'It makes you look intense, like you're really feeling it'.

_Where do we go?_

_Where do we go now?_

_Where do we go?_

Unnoticed by them both, Santana watched from a few metres away, eyes dark, narrowed at Sam. The force of her jealousy surprised her, clutching like ice at her chest and flooding her senses with an inexplicable rage.

From the minute he had dropped to his knee her arms had folded tightly across her chest, squeezing them together almost painfully to stop herself from getting up and ripping him away from Brittany, anything to stop him staring at her like that.

It was heartwrenching to watch but she couldn't tear her eyes away, a hissing noise escaping her lips as he moved in closer, turning his face upward to try and get a response from the frozen blonde.

_Oh,_

_Where do we go now?_

_No, no, no, no, no, no_

_Sweet child,_

_Sweet child of mine._

Ending with a gentle, fading chord he opened his eyes, grinning at the applause from his friends and shrugging modestly when Puck leant forward to slap a congratulary hand on his shoulder.

"Cool song bro"

"Thanks"

He pulled the guitar strap over his head, still standing close to Brittany as he waited for some kind of reaction from her and held the instrument awkwardly in his hands. She was staring blankly, clearly lost for words and after turning his head towards Finn, who gave him a thumbs up, he decided that must mean she had enjoyed it, but now was playing hard to get and so he winked at her, grinning, before returning the guitar and sitting back down in his seat as Will got up, smiling.

"Sam, that was great, I loved the song, you did a really good job"

He span on the balls of his feet to turn to Santana who was sitting rigidly in her chair, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Ms. Lopez? What do you think?"

After a short pause she gave him a tense smile, unfolding her arms and getting up quickly from her seat.

She turned to direct her words, clipped and unnatural sounding, at Sam "That was really good, well done" before apologising quickly to Will and moving towards the door, gathering her bag over her shoulder and clutching the handle so tightly her knuckles paled.

"I'm really sorry, but I've just remembered that it's thursday and I have to get my performance review into Principal Figgins before he leaves...I feel bad but I completley forgot about it and I really need to get it done today"

Will stared at her surprised,

"What?...um, really? Right now?..Well I can get one of the students to-"

She shook her head decisively, waving away his suggestion with an impatient hand,

"No, that's ridiculous, they need to rehearse. Look I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok? You can fill me in on what I've missed then"

He let out a bewildered sigh, blowing the air out through his cheeks and shrugging as he realised nothing he said would make her stay.

He had a hard time believing there was anything so urgent she couldn't wait half an hour to do but he knew Santana, and challenging her on anything wasn't something he felt would ever go well for him.

"Well...I guess that's the only option"

"Great, I'll see you then..."

She nodded, desperate to leave before she punched the overgrown blonde toddler in the face, knowing the rest of the Glee kids probably thought she was insane but barely caring as she pulled open the door.

"Ok, bye, Sorry"

Will just lifted his hand wordlessly as a means of goodbye, confused but mainly irritated that she was suddenly leaving in this dramatic rush for no apparent reason and turning back to his students with raised eyebrows as the door blew shut behind her.

"Right, well..."

He shrugged,

"Anyone else gotta leave, or shall we start rehearsing?"

...

Back at her classroom, Santana barely made it through the door before the hot tears spilled over, coursing down her cheeks as she hurriedly pushed her way in, terrified that someone would see her and expect an explanation.

She felt ridiculous.

She was crying, actually crying, because some stupid teenage Bieber lookalike had sung a song to Brittany, her favourite student, and she'd just had to sit by and watch.

She sniffed, sitting down heavily in her chair, almost laughing that she was still referring to Brittany as simply her 'favourite student' even in her mind. It was such a difficult situation. Even in the privacy of her brain she couldn't rationalise it.

Letting her head drop into her hands she squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to stop the outpouring of emotion and calm down a little before she got her things to go home. She needed to forget about this. It was ruining her life. Brittany seemed to be all she thought about these days and it was turning her into a crazy person. It wasn't healthy. She needed to-

At the sound of the door opening Santana looked up, lifting her head to see Brittany standing nervously a few metres away.

She inhaled sharply, her hands flying to her face, wiping under her eyes to swipe away any fallen tears and hurriedly pushing her hair back behind her ears, trying to compose herself.

"Brittany..why..what are you..what are you doing here? I just remembered suddenly in Glee club the work I had to..to finish, so that's why I left, did you, uh, did you have something you needed? I'm kind of busy..I had to..to come back.."

She swallowed, embarrassed at how obviously flustered she was.

"Sorry.." She cleared her throat "Did you need something?"

The blonde hesitated before moving closer to Santana's desk, her expression worried.

"Are you ok?"

Santana blinked, swallowing again and hoping that Brittany didn't notice how strangled her voice sounded.

"I'm..fine"

She ran a hand once again over her hair, smoothing it out and avoiding the blonde's concerned gaze, before repeating more firmly this time,

"I'm fine"

"It's just, you looked kind of upset when you left Glee..so..I came to see if you were ok?"

The sweetness of Brittany's concern tugged at Santana's heart, but despite feeling anything else than ok she nodded curtly.

"I'm fine thank you, but I really am busy, so you should go now"

Brittany looked wounded by the abrupt dismissal and the worry that had filled her soft blue eyes a moment ago quickly turned to hurt. She nodded mutely, turning to go but pausing for a second by the door to look back at Santana.

"Will I see you at Glee on Monday?"

The brunette looked up from the papers she had been pretending to busy herself with and met Brittany's stare with an unreadable expression.

"No, probably not"

Brittany looked down, her hand nervously playing with the door handle.

"Oh"

Her voice was heavy with disappointment,

"I was hoping you'd be there"

Santana scowled,

"Well, I'm sure your boyfriend will console you"

Brittany frowned in confusion,

"What?..My boyfriend?"

"Sam.." the brunette replied bitterly "I didn't realise you two were so close"

Santana regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth but she couldn't stop herself, jealousy twisting angrily in her stomach and hurling the painful accusations at the shocked cheerleader in front of her.

"Sam?..He isn't my boyfriend"

"Well you could have fooled me"

She was aware of how ridiculous she sounded but the image of the two of them together in Glee club forced her to carry on.

Brittany watched in complete confusion, unsure of what to say.

"Do you…do you not like Sam or something?"

Santana shook her head impatiently,

"I don't care about Sam, it's not about Sam, Brittany"

"Well what is it about then?…I don't know what you're trying to say?"

"And I don't know why you and that idiot jock are suddenly singing love songs to each other"

Brittany's eyes were wide as Santana's voice got louder in anger,

"..what? I didn't know he was even going to…I don't-"

The teacher let out a noise of frustration,

"You know what? Just leave, just forget it, forget I said anything, just go"

But Brittany didn't move, her face still a mask of shock and confusion.

"What?"

"Brittany just leave, I don't want to talk about this anymore"

"But-"

"Just go"

The blonde paused for a second, trying to let it sink in, waiting for the conversation to make sense, before realising that without more of an explanation from Santana, it never would. So she measured her next words carefully, hoping her reasonable tone would calm her teacher down.

"You can't just say all of that..and then not explain"

Suddenly Santana brought her open hand down against the desk with a loud bang, making Brittany jump.

"I am your teacher, Brittany, I can do what I want.."

She took a second to straighten the papers she had disturbed with her hand before looking back at the frightened blonde girl and nodding to the door behind her.

"..and I would like you to leave"

There was a moment where Brittany contemplated leaving, but her curiosity quickly got the better of her and she shook her head, surprised by her own boldness.

"I don't want to leave"

"Brittany, leave me alone"

"..no"

Santana tried to look affronted by her blatant defiance, but tears were springing to her eyes and she stared helplessly at the girl, desperate for her to leave but wishing she would stay, a thousand contradictory feelings threatening to make her head explode.

"Please.." her voice was starting to crack, tears almost choking her as she got unsteadily to her feet "Please, will you just leave?"

But the blonde ignored her, walking closer to Santana until they faced each other across the desk.

Her voice was soft,

"Why are you crying?"

Tears rolled openly down Santana's cheeks but she shook her head.

"I'm not, just go"

"Yes you are..and I'm not leaving"

"You have to"

"Why?"

Santana's voice was a whisper, her breath hitching in her throat as her eyes pleaded with Brittany.

"Please don't do this Brittany…you're making it so hard for me"

"Making what hard?…Ms. Lopez, I don't understand"

"Please…"

"Just tell me"

Santana sighed heavily, putting both hands to her face and covering her eyes as a quiet sob shook her body.

"Oh God…."

She sat down, seemingly haven given up on getting Brittany to leave and buried her face in her hands, dark waves of hair sprawling around her as she tried to hide her tears.

"Oh God Brittany….this is such a fucking mess"

"What is?"

After a short pause Santana spoke, her voice muffled by tears

"...the kiss at New Years, the hotel, today in Glee club, all of it Brittany...I can't do this"

"Ms. Lopez-"

At this her head came up, her expression desperate

"Don't call me Ms. Lopez...I hate it"

Brittany faltered, wanting so much to wrap her arms around the shorter woman but agonising over whether she would pushed away or not. She didn't think she could stand it if she was, so she hung back, hovering opposite her, unbearably unsure of what to do.

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be...I'm just being stupid..."

"But I am sorry...I don't know what else to say"

Santana gave a weary laugh, leaving a long pause before speaking,

"Of course you don't...you're just a kid"

She wiped a shaky hand across her eyes, streaking her skin black with wet mascara and let out a deep sigh,

"You should leave now"

Brittany could feel her own eyes welling up as she shook her head, the movement feeling heavy, like pushing through water.

"Stop telling me to leave"

Santana got up, finally having regained some control of her emotions and moved round the desk, taking Brittany's wrist gently with her hand and tugging her towards the door with a trembling smile.

"If you just left then I wouldn't have to keep asking you"

Ignoring her weak attempt at a joke, Brittany pulled her arm out of the woman's grip and took a step back.

"What about all of this? Everything you said?"

Santana shook her head sadly,

"It doesn't matter. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Brittany"

"But what are you sorry for?..You never explain. I have no idea how you feel, because you never tell me"

"That's because I'm your teacher"

"You're not _just_ my teacher, you're more than that"

"It doesn't matter"

The blonde could feel her lip trembling and she bit down, trying hard not to cry.

"So what?...We're just going to forget it happened, again? Like everything else"

The brunette paused, her voice shaky as she finally voiced the idea that had been coming to her more and more frequently in the past few weeks. She had avoided it at first but now it seemed like the only option and she offered it to the blonde tentatively, trying to convince herself it would make them both happier, that it was sensible.

"I think I'm going to have to quit"

Brittany's eyes widened, a few tears spilling free as she digested Santana's words.

"No"

"It's for the best. Then we can both forget about this...about whatever 'this' is...I can't concentrate when I'm around you Brittany...every time I see you I forget that this isn't right...I forget that you're just a girl and my feelings just-"

"I don't want you to leave"

The blonde's voice was barely above a whisper as she moved closer to Santana, reaching out to pull the woman towards her until they were close enough to see the teardrops on each others eyelashes. Heart beating like thunder, she wrapped her arms slowly around the brunette's waist, keeping her hold firm as she met with resistance.

"Brittany.."

"Please-"

"I can't"

"Please.."

Brittany dipped her head, silent tears still running down her cheeks and hesitated for a second to stare into deep brown eyes, pleading silently before pressing her damp lips tenderly to Santana's, whimpering as they touched.

"Please.."

She leant in again, placing soft butterfly kisses on the woman's full mouth, breaking the connection only to repeat her whisper again.

"Please..."

Feeling the tension go out of the woman's body, she deepened the kiss, running her tongue gently along until she felt some reciprocation, sweet lips moving softly against hers, the moment only ruined by fresh tears spilling from Santana's eyes, running down her face and falling onto their lips.

Brittany broke away, staring at the woman sadly,

"Don't cry"

Santana laughed quietly,

"You're crying too"

The blonde smiled, but her eyes looked pained

"Because I'm scared that you'll leave and I'll never see you again...what about you? Are you crying because you don't want to quit?"

She sounded desperately hopeful and the brunette leaned in slowly, pushing herself up to reach the taller girl and pressing their lips firmly together, savouring the taste before pulling back and regarding the blonde earnestly.

"I'm crying because I don't think I can"

...

**I haven't proof read. I'll do it in the morning. Sorry if it's a bit shit.**

**If you're annoyed that it's taken me so long to update, and I know that's a lot of you judging by the messages, then I am sorry but it's not like I'm forcing you to read it. I don't get paid to do this, I do have a real life as well and this is meant to be fun. You're making it less fun. So if you do feel like sending me a message saying you're losing interest etc then just don't, because it makes me want to stop writing altogether and it's annoying. I know these characters mean a lot to people and I appreciate that, but we are all the same team, we all love Brittana. So stop being crazy.**

**But to everyone else, thank you for reading, I love ya.**

**x**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The door to the teacher's lounge swung open, breaking the calm, sleepy quiet that had fallen between the few members of staff already at work that morning and with an uncharacteristic smile for that time of the day, Santana Lopez emerged from behind it, stepping brightly into the room and making her way over the coffee machine where a bemused Will watched her entrance with a questioning smirk.

"Uh, Santana?"

She stopped next to him, reaching one hand out to grab a disposable cup from the stack on the side and turning to look at him while the machine hummed to life, the smile still playing radiantly across her lips.

"Good morning Will, how are you?"

He shook his head in disbelief,

"Wait a minute, did Mitt Romney just go bankrupt or something?..I've never seen you this happy...and what are you doing in so early?"

She laughed and gave a small shrug.

"It's a nice day, I went for a run this morning and then I guess I just ended up getting ready a little ahead of time so I thought I may as well come to work a bit earlier-"

She reached around him to get a lid for her cup, her hands gently nudging his arm rather than impatietly pushing past him like she usually would have.

"- I didn't realise it would be such an event for you, Will"

This time he laughed too, still curious as to her unexpected good mood but not wanting to question it away, and reached into the pot beside him to hand her a coffee stirrer, shaking his head innocently.

"No, It's just nice, it's nice to see you"

She smirked,

"You see me every day, I saw you yesterday"

She paused, remembering, and looked up to add apologetically,

"Again, sorry about that, leaving Glee so early, but I really did have to get that report to Figgins"

"Oh it's fine" he replied honestly, waving away her apology "Don't worry about it, you didn't miss much"

He took a sip of the lukewarm coffee he had already been drinking and continued.

"After you left, Rachel decided to treat us all to a few Celine Dion classics, just to show us where the bar mark should be set for nationals...again"

Santana laughed, fully believing the brunette to do such a thing and felt a small wave of happiness warm her as she thought back to the rather more interesting way that she had spent the afternoon.

"Well I'll be sure not to miss out on that next time" she assured him with a smile, adding an extra sugar to her coffee and securing the lid.

"You'd better not" he laughed, leaning back against the counter and turning his head to return a friendly wave to another teacher who had just entered the room.

In her good mood, Santana waved too, recognising the dark skinned woman as one of the more friendly members of staff at McKinley, head of the music department if she remembered rightly. She had been at Will's New Years party too, Santana thought, the memory sticking in her head mainly because of the woman's good looks, they'd even chatted briefly but Santana had left before their conversation went much beyond small talk.

"Hey Vicky" Will smiled as the woman approached "Alright if Glee club uses the choir room to rehearse again on thursday?"

The teacher nodded, as always happy to give up her classroom for Will Schuester's Glee club, and reached for a coffee mug, smiling in acknowledgment at Santana.

"Yeah, that's fine, actually I wanted to ask you San-"

She was cut off abrubtly as a towering blonde appeared behind her, pushing her to the side carelessly and striding forward, oblivious to the shocked cry of the woman she had just knocked down.

"Chico, Schuester, sorry to interrupt.."

"What are you doing!"

Will pushed past her, rushing to help the music teacher back to her feet and checking she was ok before turning to the unruffled cheerleading captain, with a look not so much of surprise as of resigned disapproval.

"You can't do stuff like that, Sue! What is wrong with you? You could have really hurt her"

The blonde shrugged uninterestedly, genuinely not seeming to understand why he was so angry, and watched the music teacher limp dejectedly over to a table before turning back to him and shrugging again.

"She's Argentinian William, I think she can take it."

He shook his head in disbelief, sighing heavily at her comment, knowing there was no point questioning her actions further and exchanged a look with Santana, who had been watching the scene in silent surprise.

"Look, what do you want? Was there something specific or did you just come to terrorise us?"

She smirked, nodding and confessed her reason for coming over.

"It's just, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, from my spot over there" She jerked a thumb at the table where she had been sitting behind the door, tucked away out of sight in the corner "And I gotta say, it's given me a lot of things to think about"

She narowed her eyes at Will who was waiting impatiently for her to get to the point,

"One of them of course, being your completely inappropriate and outrageously obvious lust for Eva Mendes here...but if the bush baby doesn't know and Latina Lopez actually likes men who finger wave their own hair and dress like Stephen Hawking, well, that's her call"

Santana rolled her eyes, feeling her good mood starting to slip away and set her coffee cup down on the side, folding her arms and sighing as the taller woman continued.

"But no, that wasn't the actual reason I came over. I actually wanted to check that I heard you correctly, because it seemed to me-"

She smiled humourlessly, narrowing her eyes at Santana.

"-It seemed to me that you were talking about helping out with Glee club"

Will shrugged dismissively, not understanding.

"And so what if she is? How is that relevant Sue?"

The blonde turned to look at him, pointing a pale finger at his chest.

"I'll tell you why it's relevant Schwarzkopf...because Lopez here is my assistant cheerleading coach and she doesn't have time to help teach your special kids how to dance"

Santana put a hand up to stop her, feeling like someone should put an end to what was quickly becoming a farcical situation.

"I'm not your assistant coach, Sue. I've already told you I'm not interested in doing that"

The woman looked back at her, puzzled and moved away from Will.

"I'm unsure of why you're still being so difficult about this, Chiquita. I thought I'd given you enough time to come to your senses"

"It doesn't matter how much time you give me because I don't want to do it, I'll never want to do it. I would imagine the reasons why are fairly obvious so I won't spell it out for you. But you need to stop asking, it's a no"

Sue squinted at her, unimpressed, tilting her head to the side in consideration before replying.

"I don't think you understand what you're refusing here."

She gestured to Will.

"And I don't think you realise what kind of a bear trap you're falling into getting involved with Schuester and his island of misfit toys"

Santana sighed impatiently, resisting the urge to lose her temper and looked at Sue calmly, trying to keep her voice reasonable.

"Look. I'm not interested. I do not want to be an assistant coach on the Cheerios, Sue. I won't do it and I've already told you that. I don't know how else to say it to make you understand"

The taller woman was staring at her with a deep frown etched into her forehead, evidently annoyed, but she did seem to be paying attention, so Santana continued.

"I like helping out with Glee. Will is a great teacher and the kids are amazing, it's fun. That's how I'd like spend my year at McKinley, and so I really think you should just drop it, find someone else"

"But I picked you, Juanita"

Sue's eyes were hard and she spoke with a cold finality that seemed to push past Santana's protests.

"I picked you, and everything you do to convince me you won't do it just makes me even more certain that you are the perfect choice."

She breathed in thoughtfully, leaning back and regarding the dark haired woman carefully before speaking again.

"I won't back down on this Lopez"

Santana laughed humourlessly, picking her coffe cup back up and shaking her head lightly as though in disbelief.

"Well then I hope you enjoy not getting what you want-"

The corners of her mouth turned upwards, the smile not reaching her eyes as she matched Sue's hard expression.

"Because I'm not doing it"

She gestured for Will to follow her as she moved towards the door, effectively ending the conversation and leaving the blonde woman simmering silently by the counter as she led the other teacher into the corridor.

As soon as the door shut behind them, he turned to her with raised eyebrows.

"What are we going to do about this?"

"About what?" she shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee and pulling a face as the now tepid liquid filled up her mouth.

He looked at her dumbfounded, as though she was being deliberately difficult, and gestured back to the staff room behind them.

"About that! Sue's obsession with you"

She laughed.

"I think obsession is a little strong Will" Shrugging again, she added "I used to be head cheerleader at Ohio State, she wanted me to be her assistant coach, it makes sense. But I've said no, she knows I'm not going to do it so there isn't really anything else she can do"

He looked disbelieving.

"You don't know Sue"

Santana raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow, a quietly confident smirk on her lips.

"I think I can manage her, Will"

He sighed, forcing a smile to match hers, his eyes still worried.

"Yeah I hope so, Santana..I hope so"

...

**_Half an hour later_**

"Ok, class, you have 35 minutes"

She reached her hand up to the board, underlining the essay question she had just written out and then turning to face the room to read it out.

"How far would you agree with the description of Supreme Court Justices as 'Nine Politicians in robes, legislating from the bench'?"

Mike groaned audibly from his seat near the back and Santana laughed, her good mood from this morning having returned almost as soon as she had stepped into the classroom earlier and seen Brittany sitting there, a smile lighting up the girl's face as soon as the teacher entered the room.

"Sorry Mike, but it's necessary. The exam is in June"

He made another dramatic moaning noise but reluctantly picked up his pen. She continued.

"Right, now I'm looking for long answers, at least 2 pages, and I want detail, with context and analysis, recent examples, proper structuring, I don't want to hear talking, I don't want to see anyone 'sharing' ideas, this is a test, not a board meeting-"

She let her gaze skim over the class as she talked, a smile tugging at her lips as a pair of electric blue eyes tried to steal her attention, staring eagerly in her direction. She wanted to look at Brittany, to return the smile, but she unwillingly forced her eyes back to the front, feeling certain that if she let her eyes wander she would give herself away, and there was nothing she wanted less than to start getting flustered in front of a group of teenagers.

"-Ok, does everyone have a pen and paper?"

The class nodded as a collective and Santana looked down at the watch on her wrist, checking the starting time before writing it on the board beneath the question and turning back to the students.

"35 minutes starts now, you may begin"

Heads went down, silence around the room and Santana watched with a smile, sitting back down at her desk and then, when she was sure that all eyes were on their tests, finally letting her gaze wander to the blonde 1 desk back.

The girl was staring thoughtfully at her answer paper, chewing the end of her biro with such a sweet, confused expression that Santana wanted nothing more than to dismiss the entire class that minute and kiss Brittany's confusion away. Her cheeks reddened slightly at the thought and she shook her head, mentally chastising herself for having such inappropriate thoughts in the middle of a lesson.

She should be using this extra time for marking, or lesson planning, not staring at her new girlf-

She paused.

Girlfriend?...Somehow the term seemed wrong. Was it too sudden? Going from student to girlfriend in the space of a few hours?

She wasn't sure, but the word felt strange. Student definitely wasn't right any more, but girlfriend didn't feel any better, and it's not like they had discussed the official title of their relationship the day before.

Thinking back, she realised they hadn't discussed much of anything the day before. Shortly after they had resolved things, Quinn had called to say she was waiting in her car outside and the blonde had been forced to leave, punctuating her apology for leaving so soon with soft, eager kisses, only letting go of Santana's hand when her phone began buzzing insistently and she knew she couldn't keep the other cheerleader waiting any longer.

And after that, Santana had sat, almost paralysed at her desk for at least an hour afterwards, ambivalence like she had never known rushing through her until she was left dizzy. She wanted this. There was no point lying to herself any more, she wanted Brittany and ignoring those feelings only seemed to make it worse.

But going ahead with it could ruin her life. She would lose her job, lose any credibility she'd ever had in the teaching profession, probably even lose her friends when they realised she was seeing a teenage girl.

So why hadn't she stopped it?

With her head in her hands, her lips still tingling with the feel of Brittany, she had realised it was because despite all of the dangers, she couldn't help but still feel inexplicably happy.

And feeling that way wasn't something she was used to, the slightly hollow feeling in her chest that had existed as long as she could remember had started to fill up with a warmth she had never known, and the thought of letting it go now was more than she could bear. Brittany made her feel different, so much better than anyone else, like she was special. And not in the way that practically everyone else she had ever met made her feel 'special', but like she really was a good person. Like she was interesting and funny and exciting, like there was more to her than just being beautiful.

So eventually, after a fervent promise to herself that she couldn't let it get out of hand, the panic of knowing what she was doing was technically wrong was over-ridden by the exhilarating rush of remembering those electric blue eyes burning into hers, the feel of soft, sweet lips moving against her own, and she decided that maybe it was worth the risk.

And now, re-emerging from her thoughts, she looked across the classroom towards the blonde again, her pen starting to move confidently across the page, a small smile across her perfect lips and Santana's expression softened - it was definitely worth the risk.

...

**Sorry it's so short and probably littered with typos and grammatical mistakes, I just felt like I had to give you something for waiting so long. I don't know how I feel about it either, I'm tired and I have that thing where you can't even work out if something you've written is awful or not, so I apologise if it is. **

**The next chapter will have more Brittany in, I have a kind of cute idea for a first date and now my exam's are over I might even get it written in a reasonable amount of time, so if there wasn't enough interaction in this chapter then y'all can look forward to that.**

**Anyway, thank you all for reading, thank you so much for the reviews and I hope you like it.**

**x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The bell rang and Santana looked up sharply, tearing her gaze away from the blonde who had so firmly held her interest throughout the lesson and clearing her throat as she addressed the rest of her students.

"Ok good lesson guys, you can go, just leave your test papers on my desk and I'll try and have them marked for next lesson"

The volume picked up as the class began to leave, chairs scraping against the floor, Puck shouting laughingly across the room to Sam, and Santana raised her voice to be heard above the noise.

"Mike, can I see you before you leave please?'

She paused, forcing a casual tone so her next words seemed like an afterthought.

"..and, Brittany..I need to see you quickly too"

The two students looked at each other, Brittany feigning matching surprise as the dark haired boy raised his eyebrows at her questioningly, before making his way over to the teacher's desk as the rest of the class filed out.

Brittany stood a little behind, zipping up her bag as he stopped in front of Santana with a slightly apprehensive smile.

"Ms. Lopez?"

"Mike, right-"

The dark haired woman rifled through a stack of documents in front of her, located one halfway down the pile and held it out towards him with a reassuring smile.

"-Your test scores from last week."

He reached forward to take them, still looking a little worried.

"...Are they bad?"

"No, you did well"

Santana paused, suddenly realising that her hastily planned cover for talking to Brittany after class wasn't going to go quite as smoothly as she had hoped. She had been so busy thinking about what she wanted to say to the cheerleader that she had barely thought about her excuse for keeping Mike behind, past handing him back his paper. And sure his test results had been good, but since when had she ever singled a student out after class just to tell them that?

Mike seemed to be wondering the same thing as he looked blankly down at the paper and she floundered for a second, avoiding the amused blue eyes staring at her over his shoulder, and trying to quickly think up another reason she might have needed to talk to him.

"...And, well, because you're doing so well...I thought, maybe..you could give Azimio a hand with some of his revision?"

The boy's head snapped up, eyes filled with horror and she instantly felt bad for not coming up with something better. It wasn't even like she was looking for someone to give Azimio extra help, he was a nightmare student and a bully, she didn't care if he passed the class or not. But she had said it now and it was still the best cover she had, so she smiled encouragingly at the boy in front of her, pretending not to notice his expression.

"You think you could do that, Mike?"

He grimaced, looking back down at his test paper for a long beat before answering reluctantly, his tone conveying everything his politeness prevented him from vocalising.

"I suppose...I could try...if you really think it's a good idea"

Santana nodded, still feeling bad she had even suggested it and making a mental note to tell Mike next lesson that she had made alternative arrangements for Azimio to study with a different student. It would be another lie, but that seemed to be something she was getting fairly proficient at these days and so she tried not to dwell on it.

"Ok, great, Mike. That's really helpful, thank you"

He shrugged and slung his bag dejectedly over one shoulder.

"Yeah"

Santana looked at the clock above his head, noting that the next period started in 2 minutes and she hadn't had a chance to speak to Brittany yet.

"Well, you should probably get going to your next class..but thank you again, I really do appreciate this"

The boy nodded in grim acceptance and turned to leave, too distracted by the unwelcome idea of tutoring Azimio that loomed in his near future to remember Brittany and offer to wait for her. Santana watched him go, urging him to walk faster with her eyes, desperate to be alone with the blonde for the last few minutes before she would have to rush off again for class.

Finally, the door shut with a welcoming click and she turned to Brittany with a smile, hesitating for a second before getting out of her chair and walking around her desk without speaking. The blonde watched her shyly, not really sure what to say now they were finally alone and still half terrified the woman would suddenly decide to call it all off again.

She waited until Santana stood a few feet away from her, reaching out her hands to clasp the blonde's in her own, before matching the woman's smile with a small giggle.

"Hey"

The brunette squeezed her hands gently, reassuring them both that things hadn't changed since yesterday and looked up into the girl's face with a soft, happy sigh.

"Hey yourself"

Intertwined they pulled each other closer, their faces stopping inches apart but neither moving forward to close the small space for a kiss just yet, happy for a few silent seconds to just look at each other with delirious happiness.

"How are you?"

The cheerleader smiled and leant forward till their foreheads were touching, breaking their hands so she could wrap her arms loosely around the smaller woman's waist to pull her closer.

"Pretty good, how about you?"

Santana laughed and allowed herself to be tugged closer, positioning her own arms over Brittany's and around the girl's shoulders, marvelling at how well they seemed to fit together.

"Can't complain"

The blonde paused, seeming to consider something as her smile faltered for a second and when she next spoke her words were cautious.

"I was scared you wouldn't talk to me this morning"

"What?"

Santana looked up into the blonde's face and seeing the tiny furrow in her brow, instantly wanted to lean forward and kiss it smooth again but forced herself to concentrate on what Brittany was saying.

"I thought you might try and pretend it didn't happen. Or that it didn't mean anything again"

Santana frowned.

It was going to be hard to explain to Brittany why that wasn't going to happen this time. She could barely even explain the change of heart to herself, it was more of a feeling rather than any logical reason and she sighed sadly before answering.

"I promise you that won't happen again, Brittany"

She looked down, ashamed of how badly she had hurt the girl before.

"You don't know bad I felt the first time...I wouldn't do that again...I need you to know that I didn't want to...I just..."

Brittany smiled, obviously having heard what she needed to and leant forward to land a fleeting kiss against the woman's mouth, silencing her mid sentence.

"It's ok. I just needed to check"

Santana nodded, glad the girl wanted to move on.

"Ok"

She reached up to brush an unruly strand of hair behind Brittany's ear before she spoke again, knowing what she wanted to say but deliberating with how to phrase it, unsure of how it would sound.

"Brittany?"

The girl leaned into her hand, still marvelling at how good it felt to be so close to the woman that had been occupying her every thought for so long. Every moment seemed special.

"Uh huh?"

"I wanted to ask you something"

"..Ok"

Feeling her heart pound against her chest, Santana looked up at the clock, realising she had to forget her apprehension and hurry this along before she made Brittany late for her next class.

"Well..I was thinking..."

She swallowed, almost laughing at how young she suddenly felt.

She hadn't been this nervous since her first year of college when she had finally worked up the courage to ask Gabrielle Montez, the prettiest girl in her Politics lecture, to be her date for the Winter Formal. Of course the girl had said yes, why wouldn't she? But it had been frightening all the same. And suddenly the memory seemed a lot stronger, her body transporting her back to her 18 year old self, as her heart hammered faster, urging her on.

"I just thought, maybe if you weren't busy...maybe we could do something this weekend?...Out of school, you know?...You might be busy, you don't have to, but we could..I don't know...just if you're free"

She could feel her cheeks turning pink and she mentally scolded herself for getting so tongue tied.

Brittany _must_ want to go on a date with her, hadn't she already made that pretty clear? But for some reason she could hardly get the words out.

Maybe it just felt strange because she was still getting to used to this girl as more than just her student. She was an adult. Asking out a girl still high school. That was bound to be nerve wracking. But it also felt like the next step.

They liked it each other a lot, that much was clear. But they didn't know all that much about each other, and Santana wanted more than anything else to get to know the girl properly. And they could hardly do that in the 5 minute turnaround between lessons.

"So, yeah...what do you think?"

She tailed off, raising her eyes to see Brittany gazing at her with an unreadable expression.

The girl had watched as her teacher got more and more flustered, her heart almost jumping through her chest with happiness as she heard the words she had been praying to hear for months. It felt like a dream, an enchanted morning, where everything she had wanted so desperately to happen seemed to be happening and if it weren't for the warmth of Santana's body next to hers she would have been sure she was about to wake up from the best dream she had ever had.

"You want to go on a date with me?"

Santana nodded silently, unwilling to open her mouth and embarrass herself again before Brittany answered. Fortunately she didn't have to wait long, as the blonde took a deep breath and answered quietly, a soft smile ghosting along her lips as she stared into deep brown eyes.

"I would love to go on a date with you"

"You do?"

Brittany beamed, nodding,

"More than anything"

The brunette visibly relaxed, laughing in relief at the blonde's soft assurance and hesitated for a second, before leaning forward happily to place soft kiss on Brittany's pale pink lips.

"Great"

In the hallway outside, the bell for the next lesson rang out and they broke apart reluctantly, keeping their fingers brushing together as Santana walked the cheerleader to the door.

"So, maybe you could text me later?"

She paused and leant for the handle, holding the door open for Brittany.

"..Do you still have my number?"

The blonde nodded with a shy smile.

"Of course"

"Ok. Well are you free sometime this weekend?"

They stood in the open doorway and Santana was careful to keep her body language neutral and her voice low, aware that the deserted hallway could become populated with students at any moment.

"I have Cheerio's practise tomorrow morning, but my parents are away this weekend so I'm pretty much free after that"

"Your parents are away?"

Brittany nodded, looking around to make sure they were still alone.

"Yeah, they're taking my little sister to visit my cousins in Cleveland."

She shrugged,

"I would have gone too but it's getting close to nationals, and Saturday practises with Coach Sylvester are mandatory"

Hearing that, Santana couldn't help but be pleased for once that Sue was such a maniac about her cheerios. If it meant Brittany staying in Lima for the weekend instead of disappearing upstate with her family then it was ok by her. It seemed like an ideal turn of events.

"Maybe we could meet up tomorrow then?"

The blonde looked delighted at the prospect and nodded fervently.

"That sounds perfect"

"Excellent. I'll sort something out"

They smiled excitedly at each other, both hardly believing it was really happening and Santana leant forward, almost daring to place a chaste kiss on the girl's lips, when a door swung suddenly open further up the hallway and she jumped back quickly, almost toppling over as she struggled to regain balance in her heels.

In front of her, Brittany had already launched into a fake conversation to cover their real one with surprising effiency, keeping her tone level and not even turning to look at the student walking down the corridor.

"-and then I can just finish the exam next week. I need some extra time to go over the material but I should be ready by then. Is that ok?"

Santana caught on straight away, finding her footing and straightening up as she nodded brisquely,

"Yes that should be fine. I'll try and find the right test paper for Monday's lesson"

Brittany smiled, pleased at them both for giving such a convincing performance.

"Great. Thanks . I'll See you Monday"

"See you then"

The student, a freshman who neither of them recognised, walked past them, barely noticing their conversation and looking with only mild interest as Brittany lifted a friendly hand in goodbye to her teacher and then fell into step behind him down the hall.

Santana watched her go at the door of her classroom, stifling a laugh as the blonde turned around to give a brief thumbs up, smiling widely, before turning the corner and disappearing off to her next class.

...

**You don't even know how bad I feel, after how patient you have all been, to just be giving you this, which I suspect is not my best work and is super short as well.**

**I'm sorry but it's literally hectic at the moment. I had to write this during my breaks at work. That's why it's not all that and why you didn't get the first date as promised. But, I was thinking with the date, maybe y'all could give me some ideas of what you want to see them do and I can try and work a couple of different things in?**

**Anyway, sorry again, and if you are struggling to keep up with how infrequent and increasingly shoddy my updates are, I really recommend you read 'The Workaholic, The Recluse and The Wild Woman' by Oatis, if you haven't already, to make you feel better because it is brilliant and I can't see why you wouldn't love it.**

**Thanks for reading. **

**x**


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